Second Chances
by AvionVadion
Summary: It all started when she had been saved from a horrid fate. But now the girl remains haunted by her own memories, trapped in the past, unable to trust others in fear of being abandoned and left to Villains once more. Fear and obligation are a horrible clash, but it might not end as she believes. Her classmates... what do they want? They have to have a motive, right?
1. Irene Thorn: Origin

Eighty Percent.

That was the amount of the population born with incredible powers, super abilities known as Quirks. A lot of these Quirks did not have any real use in the world, unable to be applied in battle or help in everyday life, but then there were those few that _did _have a use for them. They acted out, using their Quirks for villainy, bringing harm and heartache to all who surrounded them. Eventually, after enough chaos, those who went by the title of Hero would appear to stop these Villains, doing their best to protect the people.

Meanwhile, the twenty percent of the population that _didn't _have Quirks could only hide in the background, encouraging those with strong powers to keep fighting. They often faced ridicule and were given a hard time due to their lack of power, forced to live a life of normality and most often seclusion. Those without powerful Quirks could only stand beside the Quirkless, admiring the Heroes and cursing the Villains that threatened to bring darkness to their semi-peaceful world.

And among these Heroes… in America… was a young woman. A Hero that had just recently debuted. She was the _Spark Heroine: _Time Bomb. Her steel-clad boots slapped against the ground, sparks occasionally shooting out from the heel and increasing her speed. A figure could be seen up ahead trying desperately to escape her. Eyebrows furrowing as she neared the ledge, the woman let out a small blast of energy from her feet and jumped- lunging towards the rooftop of the next building.

The man trying to escape started running again, a yelp escaping his lips when he saw her land on the concrete tiles with a loud _BOOM! _Almost falling, he hurriedly caught his balance and climbed onto the building ladder, sliding down it as fast as he could to get away. On the concrete where Time Bomb had landed a small crater had formed, the woman having released more kinetic energy to slow her descent. Her legs ached from the use of the large blasts, but she ignored the pain in favor of catching the criminal. She wasted no time in dashing towards the ledge, leaping off of it without hesitation.

Feeling the energy pulsing throughout her body, as if she was ticking bomb, she released several blasts to slow her descent and locked her gaze onto her foe. Seeing him near the ground, sliding down the ladder, she reached into her belt and pulled out several small objects. Charging them up with some kinetic energy she had built up, she tossed them in the man's general direction. Within seconds they exploded, catching him off guard and causing him to let go- sending him tumbling towards the ground. He let out a shriek and crashed hard into the alleyway street, clothes nicked and body mildly burnt in several places.

_"You don't understand anything."_

Pushing himself up when he saw Time Bomb near, he resorted to pulling out the swords that were strapped to his waist. Her barely managed to block her kick in time, protecting his face from her steel-toed boots. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't bothered to think about what would happen once her foot made contact with his blades. Before he knew it, the swords were charged with energy and glowing red, and within merely moments it had exploded. Shards from the steel flew everywhere, cutting into his flesh.

_"I don't need anyone."_

Before he could fall back the Hero's hand reached out and snatched him by the collar of his shirt, the woman throwing him hard onto his back. Her navy tailcoat billowed behind her with the cold, chilly winter breeze, and an air of pure rage swirled around her as she walked towards him. The woman was terribly calm, eerily so, especially since her bright hazel green eyes were narrowed with the promise of death if he did not comply with her demands. Time Bomb dug her boot into the criminal's chest, kneeling down until they were eye-to-eye, the woman staring the reptilian mutant down.

The man whimpered in response, blood trailing down his cheeks, her sharp red nails resting threateningly against his neck. Her slicked-back auburn hair was a mess from the battle, the few stray strands of hair falling into her face only making her more threatening. "Where. Are. They?" She growled, lower half of her face hidden by a mask. The criminal gave no answer, instead gasping for air as her attacks had left him winded. His eyes were filled with fear as he stared up at her, watching as little sparks of magenta energy crackled along the fingers of her free hand. "I won't ask _twice_, fool."

Time Bomb's nails dug into his throat and he cried out, tears forming as he sputtered out directions. Her nose scrunched up in distaste and she made to release the man, but not before kicking him hard in the head. His eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious, and before long Time Bomb had him tied up with one of the ropes she kept in one of her many strap-on bags. Clicking her tongue, she pulled off her mask to reveal a pair of sharp fangs, the woman raising a phone up to her down-turned pointed ear. "Hello? Yeah. Time Bomb. It's me."

She explained to the police where to find the man she had subdued, informing them he was captured and defenseless.

"I'm heading out."

_"Thanks, again, really! Don't forget to file the paperwork this time!" _She placed her mask back on, not responding to the officer. _"You're really something, Time Bomb! Those children won't have anything to worry about with you on the case."_

Yeah. That was the idea. Her expression darkened and she hung up the phone, tucking it back into her pocket, and pulled a grappling gun out of different bag. Time Bomb was notorious for all the support items she used, wanting to be prepared for any situation, and as such was found to be a rather practical Hero. She tried to keep her violent tendencies to a minimum, but all her pent-up anger made it difficult… especially since the case she was working on is a personal one.

For years children have been abducted all over. Recently, however, the kidnappings have increased to a magnitude that just couldn't be ignored. Police have spent a very long time searching for the children, but there was never any progress made and more kids went missing. They all appeared to be between the ages of six and eleven- with one exception being the most recent victim. A young girl of thirteen. There was speculation that because of her appearance and small stature, the villains committing these atrocities might have mistaken her age.

She was last seen at an amusement park during a school function. Witnesses had stated that she had gotten separated from the small group she was travelling with and had not been known to have been missing until _after _the class had already gathered to leave. It is clear that by this point the abduction have nothing to do with the nature of the children's Quirks or the physical appearance. The girl, a rare hybrid, bore two Quirks and neither matched up with the others who have been taken, yet the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping was the same. What these villains wanted to do with them was still up to question, concerning the parents and family members of all the children, but there still remained the chance that the girl going missing was caused by the actions of a completely different assailant.

Inhaling deeply, Time Bomb released the grapple and latched the hook onto the rooftop of a nearby building and swung. Mildly breathless as she went from rooftop-to-rooftop, her criminal count for the night stacked up to four, she continued on her way to the Villain hideout. Though she was only nineteen-years-old and still a fairly new Hero, Time Bomb had solved enough cases and problems that the government paid her well and relied on her enough to allow her to take care of this current issue. Sadly, while she _was _a Hero… Time Bomb was also a person. And while she spent time to save those in need she wasn't really a family person, at least... not after her parents had divorced.

The events in her childhood had caused a large hole in her chest, a gaping emptiness that couldn't be filled, and then as if fate itself was trying to mock her… the few she called friends began to die one-by-one, including some of her more favorable cousins. Whether they were casualties in a Villain attack, caught in a natural disaster, or even committed suicide… it all left her cold. Angry. As a result, Time Bomb and two of her siblings reached a mutual understanding; they were all affected by the events surrounding their family, friends, and themselves, but their younger sister…

The one who had still been a baby when the divorced happened… the one who had been sheltered all her life… just didn't understand. She was too little, too naive, to confused and ill to comprehend the hurt they all felt. Time Bomb wasn't going to waste her time trying to get the child to understand, no matter how much the girl attempted to reach out to the older woman. Time Bomb didn't need anyone.

At least… that was what she had thought.

Time Bomb had abandoned everyone close to her, left those that called themselves her family, and made a name of her own. That was when she got the phone call, that was when she heard the news on the radio. So many years of not having much contact with anyone except the two siblings she could stand, her roommate, and the two friends overseas, Time Bomb learned her younger sister was missing.

Kidnapped.

Her sickly, annoying, clingy little sister, who didn't care how badly her hybrid mess of Quirks affected her, was missing. So many times Time Bomb had told herself that she didn't care, and so many times she brushed of any attempt of conversation or bonding in the past, but then she learned of what had happened. Panic had hit her; fear _took over _her. The nightmares she had of losing anyone else was coming true. The family she left behind was being threatened; the family she should have been there to _protect _was falling even farther apart.

Time Bomb had spent _hours_ tracking down the abductors, four days having passed since her sister's kidnapping. Her heart was thudding against her ribcage as she sped through the streets, uncaring of how her phone was vibrating angrily in her pocket, her expression full of a desperation she's never felt before. She had to get there- before anything too horrible could happen. If she isn't alive… no, if she isn't _in _there then…

Time Bomb pulled the grappling gun back and landed on the ground, a small explosion dying down as she bent her knees and picked up some pieces of heavy gravel. Juggling the rocks in her hands to build up some more kinetic energy, she narrowed her eyes and stared down the entrance to the building she approached.

It was time.

As her bratty sister would say… it was _time _to _bomb _her way through.

**Exactly Four Days Ago**

Perhaps being afraid of strangers was normal for most children, but this girl was fairly certain that she was more paranoid than the average. She was scared to trust anyone, let alone approach them if they weren't in her school, but she always did her best to plaster a smile on her face and behave as cheerfully as ever. The girl was aware that it annoyed a few people, and she felt awful as a result, yet she felt more at ease when behaving as such and it helped greatly with her anxiety. So why… was she alone now?

Her friends accepted her and her strange bubbly behavior, and as she was a student the chaperone had to stay with her, but as she looked around the Amusement Park she found she couldn't locate them whatsoever. They had just gotten off of one of the water rides and the girl was a bit thirsty so she told them she was going to buy herself a drink, yet when she returned they all had disappeared. It must have been an accident; they could have gotten separated in the crowd. It was super busy here, after all…

Maybe they miscounted? She had been fairly quiet during this particular trip, not understanding a lot of the jokes or references her friends told, and was unable to join in any of the conversation, so perhaps they just forgot she was there. Her teachers often didn't notice her during their classes. They would walk right by her desk when passing out homework sheets or tests, and when dealing out the supplies they would need for certain projects, and she would always have to speak up. Not to mention that when she actually _knew _the answer and raised her hand- the girl sitting in the front of the classroom- they would never call on her. It was as if she didn't exist.

Still… the girl did her best to find everyone. Unfortunately, she didn't have anyone's phone number and lacked a phone herself, and as such couldn't actually contact them. Her parents were quite strict and didn't want to get her a phone until she was sixteen, which was several years away. She was left to wander aimlessly, shrinking into herself as she avoided the crowds of people, and paused only when she noticed that the same person had been walking behind her for at least ten minutes now. She tried to ignore, to pretend they weren't there, and picked up her pace as a result.

It was in moments like these the girl wished she could run like a normal person. It was rather difficult _not _to run, she was so scared, but running would destroy her- so she moved as fast as she could without accidentally using her speed Quirk. In all honesty, she sometimes thought it was more of a curse; it tore away at her body fat, eating up all of her calories, and often left her thin and malnourished and weak. She couldn't control it- it activated if she so much as sprinted. It often left her to sit back in the middle of gym class, constantly leading her to be the source of her teacher's anger.

It figures that the only time her teachers would acknowledge her existence is when she can't actively participate in the group, yelling at her for her supposed incompetence. Okay. Calm down. She glanced behind her shoulder, brown eyes gazing past her dark hair, and when her eyes locked with the cruel amber gaze of her perpator she rushed to shake him off. Darting between a crowd and worming between some building, her feet pounded against the ground and she wheezed, almost hyperventilating as she panicked. She had just managed to sneak behind the fence of an amusement park ride and was about to escape into the bathrooms when an arm suddenly wrapped around her, grabbing her and pulling her back. She screamed, thrashing and kicking her legs, but before anyone could take notice- her own cries blending in with the children on the rollercoasters and hammer rides- there was a cloth over her mouth.

The girl tried desperately to hold her breath, she was so dizzy from the adrenaline rush. So scared and panicked. Before she knew it she was inhaling something strong and heavy, and very much overwhelming for her enhanced senses. Darkness quickly overtook her, leading her deep into unconsciousness as she fell limp in her attacker's arms.

When she awoke her skull felt as though it was splitting in two, body sore and wrists burning. The girl tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. Letting out a small cough, the girl groggily opened her eyes, her vision taking a moment to adjust. When it finally did become clear the girl realized she could hear a sort of roaring noise- like… a car's engine?

_What's… going on?_

Everything hurt so much; she was so dizzy. Her eyes stung and her sinuses- _ugh_. It was like they were on fire. She turned her head, adjusting to the darkness, and blinked when she caught sight of several other shapes in the room. After a few moments she realized that three of them were children, bound and gagged, all younger than her, and lying on the ground just a few feet from where she herself was. There was a man sitting on a box behind them, parrot face tilted down with his arms crossed over his chest, brain partially sticking out from his skull. Even freakier were the horns jutting down the back of his head to his spine, piercing through his clothing. The adult looked like he was sleeping.

Twisting on her side through the pain, she glanced to her left and felt her heart nearly stop in fear. The girl's long hair fell into her face and she winced as she scooted away, accidentally pulling on the strands, but she didn't care. The person in front of her was horrifying; all she wanted to do what get away. He almost looked like a cockroach, but something was… wrong. This person didn't look quite right either.

The second his mandibles clicked the girl squeaked, accidentally startling one of the other children awake. There was shouting from the other side of a wall- _where they in some kind of truck?_\- that was distinctly foreign. She couldn't tell what language they were speaking. The parrot man opened his beak and the girl stared in unadulterated terror, seeing the long row of teeth resting inside. His eyes were blank, almost as if he were completely devoid of feeling or thought, and the shriek that left his mouth wasn't human. Chills went down her spine and for a while the girl had forgotten how to breathe, the pain in her chest and skull growing more intense, the air around her suffocating and thick.

One of the children, the one she had awoken, began to cry. That was when it happened- the creepy mutant stood, walking slowly with hunched over shoulders and limp arms, and then reeled his leg back. Before she knew what had happened the child was suddenly flying hard into the wall, forced into silence, body collapsing onto the ground as blood pooled from their skull. He just… without even hesitating…

Vision shining with a golden light, she could tell from the fireflies in her sight that the child was still alive. Badly injured, yes, but still functioning. The girl shivered, feeling greatly cold all of a sudden, and choked back a sob that was trying to form. She really didn't want to be next. The foreign voice from up front began to shout again, this time louder. Rather than the parrot guy reacting, it was the one whom resembled a cockroach. His black eyes were haunting, not to mention the strands of hair that rested on his mandible. The girl dared to compare it to that of a spider's legs.

It was so gross.

She used to have nightmares of giant spiders eating her alive, even imagining them crawling into her mouth while she was sleeping due to something her older brother said, so this was really nerve-wracking and testing her ability to keep calm. The way these two looked… it was nothing like other mutants she saw. The girl wasn't exactly _normal _herself, what with her pointed ears and fangs, but she and several others she knew weren't scary like this. She had a classmate that was straight up born looking like some kind of lava/human hybrid, and was forced to wear special clothes so she didn't melt straight through the floorboards or the classroom seats. These people, however…

With their unnatural features and semi-exposed brains… they were like monsters.

The girl tried to scoot farther away, tears welling up in her glowing eyes, but she didn't get very far. Her frail body acted against her, growing numb and causing her to crash back onto her side in response. She had never been a fan of bugs, so seeing someone whose Quirk made them take the appearance of what looked like several meshed together was… quite horrifying. She was going to have nightmares for months if she survived this. His appearance mostly resembled that of a cockroach, but his mandible clearly belonged to that of a spider. Antennas poked out at the top of his head and his back had the wings of a fruit fly. Instead of two pairs of eyes he had six, and the girl had the sinking feeling that- based on the placement of several stitches and multi-toned skins- most of them didn't actually belong to him.

Scars surrounded the area on his face where four of them were, as if they had been surgically attached or altered, and a few even looked off-centered. The black beady eyes resting in the middle focused solely on the girl, while the top pair (eyes the color of amethyst) were focused on the parrot-man on the other side of the room. The bottom green eyes were crossed, as if unable to look properly in one place. It was so gross. She wanted to throw up just looking at him.

But, as she was unable to move, she could only watch as he stood. Breath caught in her throat as he walked over, the girl flinched when he raised a foot and rested it on her side. What was he going to do? Dear gods, please no. No, no, no! She doesn't want to get hurt, not like that child. He's still bleeding. Frick. Her heart was hammering loudly inside her chest. The voice called out again, making the girl once more try to figure out what language it was. It almost sounded… Japanese?

The foot on her side suddenly raised and rammed into her, the hell digging into her back and sending her rolling. he wanted to scream for help, to plead with the man to not hurt her anymore, but she wasn't able to as he lifted her up by the collar of her shirt and threw her hard into the wall. She heard something crack, but whether it was her skull or one of her ribs she wasn't certain. As a result of her second Quirk the girl was more durable than the average human, but her first Quirk- her speed- tore away at her and left her special defenses completely redundant. When it became clear to the driver that the girl could still move, the man having opened some kind of slot to peer in and observe, he muttered something to the insect amalgam.

The abuser stepped forward, kicked her again, and again, and threw her, and kept doing so until she quit moving, blood pooling out from the corner of her mouth where one of her teeth fell out. When she finally awoke after what felt like eternity the girl noticed she could taste iron. Her insides twisted and churned, so inflamed she feared they might implode. Every movement she took was accompanied by excruciating pain, all the muscles in her body throbbing and aching, even the slightest twitch of her fingers leaving her hands sore. What all was wrong with her? How many bruises did she have?

She didn't have internal bleeding, did she? Gods, she hoped not. She wouldn't survive that. Maybe one of her ribs were cracked and that was what was causing that pain. Actually, forget that- where was she now? She couldn't hear the roaring of engine or the breathing of the guards. Not even the voice of the foreigner. It was hard to remember what exactly happened to her through the pounding in her skull, but she recalled enough to know she had been rudely tied up and beaten.

As to how she wound up in this new dark place… she could only surmise it was a drop-off. The girl looked around, trying to see what was around her, but it was so dark that even after her eyes adjusted she could barely make out anything aside from some silhouettes. Wait, that sound… someone was crying. Sobbing. She couldn't see them, but she could definitely hear them.

"-scared… m-mommy, help me…"

A boy. She tried to focus on the direction of where the voice came from, but it was so hard. She could hear breathing all over, coming from several different small silhouettes. "H-Hello?" She was a little scared of speaking up, but she doubted a little kid could do much harm to her. Especially if they were in the same situation. Her throat was parched, leaving the girl's voice raspy. "Wh-Who's there?"

He didn't respond. The boy just cried louder. She winced at the sound, finding it piercing to her sensitive eardrums, but she didn't tell him to be silent. Suddenly there was a light- a pale yellow light peering into the room as a door opened. The girl squinted and watched as an old woman entered the room, accompanied by two terrifying guards.

The one on the right resembled that of a gorilla, but most of his fur was missing and one arm looked as though it had originally belonged to an alligator. A single horn protruded out of his chin. His clothes were tattered and bloodied, and there appeared to be several indents along the length of his arms as if he had been pricked continuously with needles. The man on the left resembled a shark, gills along his neck and cheeks, with big yellow teeth and grey eyes. The scales, which should have been a light blue, had faded to a nasty orange at the top of his head. He walked with a limp.

Most notably, both had parts of their brains exposed, eyes dead and unaware of their surroundings.

The old woman that stood in the middle peered around the room, a twisted grin on her lips. She was missing multiple teeth and one crimson eye was cloudy- probably blind- with stitches at the corners of her mouth. The girl held her breath, fearful wondering what was going to happen next, and watched as the old croon raised a crooked finger. She pointed at the young boy who was sobbing nearby, a child with vibrant magenta hair and green eyes.

Her two guards walked forward, lifelessly grabbing at the child, ignoring his screaming and cries of terror, and marched out of the room. The little girl glanced around frantically, taking note of just how _many _children there were. A lot of them were just as lifeless as the guards, bodies misshapen and abused, as if pieces of them had been taking apart and put together. Pieces of their cranium was missing, showing the brains that spilled out, and a few even appeared to be soaked in some kind of liquid. Those were the scariest kind; the girl wasn't even sure if they could be considered human anymore. Their eyes almost looked like they were going to bulge out of their sockets, skin colored from grey to dark blue.

Others, the ones that appeared to be days old and halfway done rotting, had dried blood down their cheeks and all over their faces. There were feathers, horns, scales, spikes, iron nails burn marks… were they trying to turn them all into monsters? The girl's mind flashed back to the guards in the vehicle and the two people that were with the old lady, bile rising up to the back of her throat as she continued her observation. One child- maybe five or six years of age- appeared as though she came from a family whose quirks were mutation based, her body resembling that of a sheep, but she came with her own set of nightmare fuel.

Aside from being pale as death and covered in scars and stitches, her right arm didn't even look like it belonged to her. The other child…

The little girl felt sick just looking at her. She wasn't even sure if that girl _retained _her identity after what she had been through. Turning her head away, she desperately tried to keep herself from throwing up what little she had left in her stomach. She could still taste the iron of her own blood. At least some kids were still breathing; several children were tied up in a similar position to her, but four of six of them looked fairly beat up. Some were crying silently, other were muttering to themselves. Her thoughts went back to the bloody, malformed children, wondering if they were all going to end up like that.

If… _she_… was going to end up like that.

Dead, dying. Torn apart and stitched back together. Dumped in… whatever strange liquid it was that was covering some of the corpses. Having unwelcome Quirks tearing you apart…

She squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering at the dark and very vivid scenarios her mind was creating. The girl already suffered enough with her own powers, to imagine having any more was… gods- she couldn't stand it. Her Quirks contradicted and ate at each other; they ate at _her_. Having someone cut into her body and do whatever it was they did to force more Quirks onto someone…

Her eyes glanced around them, viewing all the bodies littered on the ground. They were so disgusting- rotted and reeking of piss and shit. There was blood- _so much blood_\- and a lot of the deceased had been tossed into a small pile. Were the kidnappers too lazy to so much as bury them? The dead were piling up on top of each other, as if the monsters had just thrown them uncaringly into a random corner of the room and went from there.

It was sickening. Grotesque. The smell alone made it near impossible to hold back the vomit. Body going into shock as she stared and took in her surroundings, slowly registering what was happening, all she could do was stare. A fresh wave of panic soon hit her and the girl's breath caught in her throat.

_N-No, no, no, no. No!_

There were so many; how many children had been brought here? Too many to count, by the looks of it. How had no one found them? Heroes are always supposed to save the day, right?

But they don't always get there in time… her father even said so.

A lot of them only save who they want to and you should never put too much trust in them. But their _job _is to defeat the Villains and save the citizens. Her siblings even work in the industry- one works with support items, another makes costumes, and one actually _is _a Hero. Her dad is just a jerk who doesn't believe in people.

So… why have so many died?

Was he right after all? Her own sister avoided her whenever she could and she was a Hero- so does that mean no one was going to come save them? Were all Heroes people who only really cared about themselves? She and all these other children… were they all going to die like the rest? Were they going to be experimented on because of the whims of a mad woman?

_I'm scared…_

She couldn't move or think; all the small child could do was lie there on the ground and curl up pathetically as she waited for the pain to subside. Waiting there for something to happen; praying that someone- _a Hero that did care_\- would appear. Inhaling the scent of death, surrounded by so many corpses of dead children, the girl knew it was futile, but she was little and she was scared. The girl wondered what she did wrong; what horrible act she committed that led to her being abducted like this. What any of these children did wrong to be forced into such a gruesome fate.

Why_ was_ the girl abandoned? What did she do to make her siblings hate her? How come her parents hated each other so much? Why did no one at school ever notice that she existed?

Had she always been that much of a nobody?

Did she even deserve to live?

The only person who put up with her was her older brother; he let her hide in his room when she got scared or had a nightmare. He never seemed to particularly like her, but he at least didn't push her away. But then he moved away, too… like her sisters.

She never even wanted to go on the stupid field trip. The girl had just thought it would be nice to not stay cooped up at home for once- to give everyone that lived with her a breath of fresh air. She was a hindrance. The last child no one wanted to deal with.

Not even the teachers, apparently, or her classmates… as they completely ditched her and left her to fall subject to this situation. This dark abyss, where the only light that enters being caused by the crazy old woman that would eventually come to take another one of them away. The only reason she could see now was because her eyes had finally, _completely_, adjusted to the darkness. She wasn't even sure how long she was in there- sometime later her stomach began to growl quite angrily, demanding substance, and it grew to a point where it was near unbearable. Then she got dizzy, very thirsty, and fell asleep.

She woke up when the door opened and the child from before was thrown into the room. Barely breathing, barely alive. Ice-cold water was dumped on all the bound children's forms by the mutants, snapping them all up into awareness.

The girl's tired, scared eyes focused on his form- eyes glowing with a golden hue as his wounds became clear for her to see. A lump built up in the back of her throat and her vision blurred, the light on the boy's body fading as his life gave way. She laid there on the ground, watching in horrified silence as he took his last strangled breath of air.

And then he was still.

Squeezing her eyes shut, the girl turned her throbbing head away and choked, shoulders shaking as the tears began to fall.

**Present Day**

Time Bomb released a huge blast from her foot, spinning and balancing on one hand as she rammed her heel into the enemy's chest. She was furious, half of her mask broken and falling apart from when she had taken a direct hit to the face. What was the point of hiding her identity if some bastard was going to try and get rid of her mask? "Get… the fuck back! I'll destroy you!" She flipped back when the opponent reached out, using the momentum of her letting out an explosion against their chest, and skidded across the ground, rubble surrounding them from the many blasts she had caused from exploding several little objects.

With a deep breath, the woman charged and reeled her arm back, swinging her fist and making contact with flesh and bone, effectively breaking her opponent's nose. Such a sound was never as satisfying to her before than in this moment, an enraged grin spreading across her lips. Her hazel green eyes were almost crazed in her moment of fury, the woman going past her limits and beyond in an attempt to save the person that mattered most. She really could be such a fool sometimes, not realizing until now how important family truly was.

Time Bomb had already cleared the first floor of the building, gradually making her way down to the lower levels. She had interrogated a guard when she first came in, demanding answers to the location of the abducted children, and before long she stopped encountered intelligent foes. The deeper she went into the building, the more… monstrous her opponents became. It was strange. Concerning. It bothered her how… Frankenstein… this all seemed. What was even worse was that they all appeared to be wielding several Quirks at once.

Before her opponent could stumble back, Time Bomb released the energy that built up in her fist upon the impact and a loud explosion rang out, the strange flying back hard into a wall. The woman huffed and stood up straight, wincing at the feeling of her bones popping and the aches in her muscles. Maybe going along wasn't such a great idea after all; she should have called her friend along. Power Cord was practically her right-hand man in these sorts of cases, his and her Quirks so compatible that they practically fed each other more strength. Electricity Projection and Kinetic Energy. It was because of him that she had her costume designed to specifically be electricity-resistant. Time Bomb sighed, running her shaky fingers through her hair, and glanced around the room.

She doubted that she was going to get anymore information out of these mindless soldiers. What on earth was done to them all? It wasn't natural. After having battled so many, it was clear there was some kind of experimentation going on, and… that only made the sinking feeling she had in her stomach worse.

_Irene…_

There was no way she was going to end up like these people. Time Bomb won't let her. The woman raised a hand up to her mask to assess the damage, noting that half of it was broken off and shattered. Thankfully, the bottom was still intact and so the mask was able to remain attached to her face. All that was revealed were the freckles that covered her left cheek. "Odin's beard…" She muttered, scowling. Eyes roaming the room one last time, ensuring that her opponents were all unconscious, the woman continued on her way.

Time Bomb had been dashing through the halls, searching for a staircase or elevent, and had just found the emergency exit staircase when her ears caught wind of a voice in the distance. There was also the sound of something… falling apart. Collapsing. Or, rather, as it got closer she could determine that it was more like a very heavy, very powerful tank was crashing through the ceilings.

"What in the-!?"

Time Bomb barely got a glimpse of what appeared to be the colors of the American flag, too busy leaping out of the way to avoid getting crushed. When she recovered she saw there was a large hole now in the floor, going down at least four more flights. Eyes wide with shock, Time Bomb grit her teeth together as she realized what just happened, indignation and anger coursing through her. Without hesitation, she dashed forward, releasing small blasts from her heels to increase her speed, and the woman proceeded to jump into the abyss. Explosions released from her palms to slow her descent- but then she caught a better look at who it was that had come crashing down through the floors.

With her suspicions confirmed, Time Bomb stopped blasting the air and let herself fall at full speed, feet together and pointed downwards as she cursed the name of the person that came to help her. "AAAAALLLL MIIIIIGHT!"

She's never felt more furious. Did the police find her so inadequate that they had to send _him _of all people!? What the fuck!? There was no reason for him to get involved. The Number One Hero glanced up in surprise, hands on his hips, and blinked when he saw her. In reaction to her falling he reached his arms to in preparation to catch her, that irritating smile resting forever on his lips, but he realized his mistake too late. Her feet came crashing into his face with the full weight of her body, nearly sending him stumbling back had he not been so rooted into place, a grunt escaping him, and using that momentum Time Bomb leapt into the air, landing on the ground with a practiced grace.

All Might rubbed at his dirt-covered face, skin a bit red though otherwise unharmed, and brushed her actions off with grin. He looked down at the slender woman, raising an eyebrow at the way she glared up at him. "H-Hello, Time Bomb!" He greeted awkwardly in English, taking note of her broken mask and the way her high cheekbones were exposed. He had never seen so much of her face revealed before; she was quite pale, not mention young. No one knew her true identity. "Was it really necessary to use my face as a landing pad?"

She stared at him blankly, eyes boring into very soul, hatred in her gaze. "...Yes." She answered curtly. "And it was absolutely fucking _worth _it."

Holding back a heavy sigh, the man released a strained laugh instead. Time Bomb respected the Symbol of Peace, she really did, but she couldn't stand how exaggerated he was. That smile of his, that seemed unbothered by the destruction and the chaos of the world around him, frustrated her. "Well, either way, there's no need to fear!" He let out a dramatic bellow, arm raised in the air with a hand on his hip. "I am here- _to help you save the missing children!"_

All Might was just about to continue when he saw that the woman was now nowhere to be seen.

"Eh?" He looked around, surprised. A bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face, the man gave an exhausted chuckle. The police hadn't even contacted him; he merely followed the trail of defeated Villains and wound up here, determined to help whoever was fighting in order to free the victimized children. It just so happened that the person battling was the one Hero who wanted nothing to do with his existence. "Aha… the Spark Hero really hates me, doesn't she?"

...

Irene didn't have much energy left. After having been beaten the way she was, crying really took it out of her. All the small child wanted to do now was just sleep, curled up in a ball with her eyes closed. She can't even remember the last time she ate, but it wasn't as if she could really feel her hunger anymore; her body hurt so much. She was just so dizzy. Her intense desire to use the bathroom disappeared a few hours ago as well, in the most humiliating fashion, although she wasn't the only one.

The girl wondered if the old woman was going to be coming back anytime soon. They've spent so long in this darkness… Irene couldn't stand it. The stench in this room was suffocating and her bones ached from the lack of movement. Just who was going to be taken next? Her? One of the other kids next to her? A part of her wanted to close her eyes and just give up, to let the inevitable happen, but… a stubbornness ate away at her. The smell of rotting flesh and human blood was just too much for her to bear.

While she contemplated the meaning of her own existence and her own wrongdoings, she also realized that if, for some reason, Heroes _did _come they would have no way to find them as long as they remained trapped in this horrid room. Irene's body felt like it was being pricked by needles, each breath painful and stuttered, but she knew she needed to do something. It didn't matter if she was scared; if she wanted to run and hide, and not throw herself in harm's way. Her instincts screamed at her to do the opposite of what she was thinking; flight being the course of action she adored above all else. Irene was not the heroic type; she was stubborn and selfish, and very one-track minded.

She loathed confrontation and tended to cower more often than not.

However, if there was one trait Irene had that would help her move in this situation… it was that she was creative. Unfortunately, she was so used to screwing everything up and being told that she was useless and unintelligent that she mostly thought of all the negatives and the various ways things could go downhill. Maybe she shouldn't do anything after all? What would be the point in trying if she just wound up getting everyone, including herself, killed in the process?

That was when Irene heard one of the kids whimper. Her heart thudded in her chest and her eyes closed, the girl taking in a stuttered breath. If she could just pin all remaining hope on the _one _idea that perhaps things will turn out alright, she might be able to do this. Ignoring any and all pain, and the voice in the back of her mind trying to make her darker and surrender, Irene rolled into her back and kicked off one of her shoes.

It quite a bit of effort, but after scraping her ankle repeatedly with her remaining sneaker she managed to roll her exposed sock off. Irene needed bare skin for this to work and her were a little _tied up _at the moment. She struggled to stand, legs weak and head getting dizzy, and the girl ended up swaying and stumbling back hard into a wall. Irene felt so sick. As her toes squished into something sticky and wet, bile began to bubble up in the back of her throat and it took all she had not to throw up. She was glad it was dark, because while she could make out the shape she couldn't quite tell _what _that mysterious substance was.

Irene focused on the children around her, especially the newer ones. She had no idea how long she had been in here, only hunger and her bladder being the only things informing her of the passage of time, but some time during…. Er- sometime _after _the green eyed boy had died several more kids had been tossed into the room. This meant Irene had a lot more to work with. At least, despite all the beatings she took and the hunger that ate away at her entire being, she was still strong enough to heal those who were wounded. Her one Quirk was still good for something. It was what kept her standing. Perhaps if Irene wasn't so used to being hungry all the time she wouldn't be able to move.

Gods, she wasn't sure if she should hate herself or be grateful that she was the odd one out in her family. Her mother had a regenerative Quirk that healed whatever wounds she had, no matter how major, and her father had a Quirk that let him store and release kinetic energy. Her siblings were very much the same as them, her eldest sister and older brother having regeneration, a more defensive ability, and her other sister obtaining the more destructive power of kinetic energy. Irene was really strange compared to them.

She was neither destructive or defensive.

Instead of inheriting a power similar to her siblings, she was granted a Quirk that had belonged to her father's mother, yet was far more deadly and advanced in comparison. Particularly towards Irene herself. What should have been a normal speed boost mutated into a terrible self-destructive curse, and the regeneration ability from her mother that should have been completely self-centered was instead shifted towards others. This granted Irene more durability than most as she _gives _her stamina to others in order to heal them, even able to offer her own energy to revitalize _them._

However, when she runs her durability weakens… and she becomes as fragile as glass. She wasn't normal.

Irene was a hybrid. A mix. An abomination.

Is that why her siblings didn't care for her? She knew they were haunted by something, but no one ever bothered to explain it to her. They always said she just wouldn't understand; that she wouldn't be able to handle it. Maybe they were right. Maybe that was why her own classmates and even her teachers left her to her own devices. Besides, what was the point of caring for something that would inevitable kill itself because of its inability to control its power?

The thought hurt more than anything else. She was just disposable, wasn't she? No one probably even noticed she was gone. Not even the people called "friends" would care. They wouldn't have abandoned her if they did.

Trying to distract herself from her morbid thoughts the girl concentrated, her vision lighting

gold with fireflies as she caught sight of all wounds- internal and external alike. It was still so hauntingly beautiful, the way the lights would flicker and dance, seeming to make the bodies glow in the darkness. It was a sight only she could see.

Has she never been helpful enough? When her sister got into that bad car accident so many years ago… she healed her shattered bones. When her classmates got injured or scraped up, Irene would patch them back up despite the dizziness it caused her. She always tried to be useful.

So where did she go wrong? She couldn't figure it out. Was it because she just didn't understand references? Because she talked too much? Was she too selfish? What about her was so _awful _that it led to even the adults ditching her? Were her friends really _friends _at all?

Irene dug her fangs into her bottom lip, worrying nervously at the flesh, questioning her own existence. Perhaps dying here wouldn't be so bad, but the other children… she had to at least _try _to get them out. Cautiously approaching the first child, she called out to them with a quiet voice. That only seemed to scare them more. Irene winced and glanced around, before taking a deep breath and settling for just reaching out with her foot, doing her best to keep her balance. Any disgust she could feel was now something more akin to apathy and acceptance, even as she felt around their shirt for an entry point, toes managing to find the skin of the other child's back.

The little kid flinched in response to the touch, but upon feeling energy begin to return to them, the pain in their body ebbing away, they relaxed. The stamina that left Irene's body drifted into the child, the fireflies spreading amongst their body and gradually diming away into darkness as the wounds healed. Soon all that was left was the torn clothing and dried blood. That fading light had once been a sign of relief, but as she watched it Irene could only think about that green-eyed boy… and how now she knew that it could also be a sign of death.

The child mumbled something unintelligible, slowly sitting up. The outline of their body was the only thing Irene could see in this total darkness. They sniffled. Irene hurriedly moved her foot, eyes growing wide as she lost balance and collapsed hard into a pile of… something. Ew. Ew. Oh gods. Don't think about it. "Wh-What'd you do?" The child asked.

"H-Healed you." Was her short response, voice cracking a little as she spoke. "Wh… What's your Quirk?"

"Quirk? O-Oh, uh…" The child paused, uncertain and a bit startled. After a few moments they responded, "I c-can shoot glass shards out of my arms…? I-It doesn't go very far though."

"Really?" That surprised her. Her mind ran wild as she tried to put together how best to make use of his Quirk. If they had enough time, she would like to heal the other children first and figure out what their powers were. Optimal use. Strategy. Gods, she was panicking so hard right now. Her heart was racing. "O-Okay. Um. I-I'm going to, uh, heal the others so… just… wait, I guess. I'll be back."

It was a very long and tiring process. Each child was hurt more than the previous and Irene was quickly being drained of what little strength she had left. All their Quirks leaned closer to defense than offense, so if they got attacked there wouldn't be much any of them could do aside from run away. It wasn't as if they had much training _using _their powers either, save for perhaps Irene. The girl began to freak out more with each step, fear of everything going wrong controlling her.

_"You'll just be useless."_

Her father flashed through her mind.

_"Don't let your emotions get the better of you. People will walk over you then. Heroes won't ever save you from that."_

Each movement was forced and every word out of her mouth felt like she was choking on her own tongue. There was no way this was going to work; she wasn't that intelligent. Irene was just a thirteen year-old girl who had gotten the short end of the stick. Her hands were shaking so bad by the eight child, the girl both scared and out of strength. Exhausted, the girl fell to her knees and gasped. At least she had gotten all the remaining children. Still… it did no good for her if she couldn't keep moving- her vision was fading in-and-out of monochrome, stomach flipping over itself. Things were _not _going according to plan.

The girl shivered, knowing she was sitting in something wet, that she was soaked head-to-toe in something vile, but she no longer found it in her to care. All she wanted was to be back home in her bed, burrowed under covers where it felt like nothing could touch her. Alone, safe. Warm. Maybe curled up in her mother's lap. She was so small and her mom never complained about holding her. Irene tried to remember that feeling.

Suddenly, the girl was forced to snap back into awareness. A pale light greeted the room, lighting up the black, and Irene felt all remaining hope drain away into nothingness. She recognized that pale yellow light.

The old woman and her henchmen were back. She was back for her next victim. Irene replayed her plan in her head, but fear made her halt in her tracks and she could only stare in horror as the scientist stepped into the room, a pale crooked finger raising in the air as her single crimson eye glittered ominously. When she realized who she was pointing to Irene's heart all but stopped.

That wretched crone was looking directly at her.

A strange smile curled onto her broken lips as she observed Irene, the madwoman moving closer. Her white coat was covered in red stains, and strands of gray hair fell into her face, wrinkles spreading across her forehead and revealing age as she gave Irene a toothy sneer. "Such lovely eyes you have," She murmured quietly, stopping in front of her. Irene recoiled when the adult knelt down, her breathing shallow as her crimson eye bore into her own brown, "like a doe just moments from death. So sweet…"

Her wrinkled, bloodied hand reached out towards her- bony fingers brushing against Irene's bruised cheek. He watched with fascination until Irene frantically yanked her head away, the girl falling back onto her rear with a terrified squeak. The old woman laughed.

"Aw, don't fret, my dearest! You'll be my finest project, surely! My master will be most pleased." What? Project? Oh gods. She really was going to experiment on her. Irene flickered her gaze over to the corpses, seeing their rotted flesh and mismatched body parts, their brains leaking out, and their eyes bulging out of the sockets. There was no way Irene was going to become like that. Right? "You'll help me… you'll learn. You'll obey. If you survive… hehe. Let's try it now, then, eh?"

She then said something distinctly foreign, reminding Irene of the words back on the truck, despite this voice being much different. That was when the old woman reached out, roughly grabbing onto Irene's long hair and pulling the girl towards her. Irene let out a pained yelp.

"My new… and improved… Nomu."

Laughter escaped her lips then. A hideous, maniacal cackle that made all the hairs on Irene's neck stand on end. With shocking strength, the old woman stood and gave a harsh tug on Irene's hair, forcing the girl onto her feet. Another cry escaped her, the girl not used to being put through such abuse.

"Don't be scared!" She cooed. "It's not like you can fight back, so just give in! It'll be more peaceful that way! My Quirk gives me incredible strength, so if you try to struggle you'll just hurt yourself. Keehee…"

Vision blurring and the world around her threatening to disappear, Irene's weak and skinny fingers gripped at her long strands of dark brown hair. She pulled, screaming only more as the pounding in her skull intensified to the point where it was near unbearable. If she tried to run now her hair would be ripped out of her scalp, but if she didn't run she would end up like those kids that were taken before her.

Irene hadn't planned on being an experiment, not at all, but it wasn't as if she didn't _expect _this to happen. It was actually one of the worst case scenarios she had thought of. In fact, it wasn't _not _what she was ultimately aiming for; all Irene wanted to do was stall and distract, and give an opportunity for the other children to run off. Perhaps use their Quirks to wound their attacks, but only if truly necessary.

The little kids watched, standing and/or kneeling with fear, wondering what was going to happen to her. Irene grit her teeth and glared up at the old crone, recalling her words. She said she was stronger than most, but she didn't say anything at all about her defense. She was old and frail, even if her Quirk did give her a boost in strength. All Irene needed to do was pause her… and she could only think of one way to do that.

Now, Irene was normally a pacifist by nature, but in this situation the girl found it perfectly accept to reel her hand back and ram her fist hard into the elder's throat. In the old woman's shock and pain, she loosened her hold on Irene's hair and the girl was able to take that chance to do what she needed. Long locks of dark chocolate freed, Irene took a step forward and ran.

To anyone's eye it would have appeared that she had simply vanished; her form shimmering in the air briefly before disappearing, until she abruptly became visible many feet away. Her tiny body crashed into the blank-faced Gorilla Man, sending them both flying into the nearby wall. No one had seen it coming, no one could have even predicted it; it all occurred in the course of a second. Irene's body thinned out slightly as a result of her actions, the fabric of her clothes smoking from the incredible friction it was hit with. She rolled off the guard, the man dazed from the velocity of the blow. His brain had hit the wall quite hard.

The girl staggered, stunned from her own ambush, and wobbled to the doorway with a shaken expression. The children who had been watching were all frozen still, not knowing how to react to what happened. It was as if the understanding of the situation didn't even _dawn _on the other guard, eyes as empty and dead as his companion, and the old woman raised a hand. The Shark Man took that as an order to charge. And Irene- recovering from her shock- let out a yelp and ducked, barely missing a large fist that swung over her head.

"_Run!"_

Her voice erupted from her lips before she even realized it herself, the girl quickly taking her own advice. As Irene vanished from sight the children bolted- all rushing to the doorway in a desperate attempt to survive. The Shark Man had just retracted his fist when a force slammed into his side, Irene effectively cracking several of his ribs were her body mass and speed, and sent him sprawling along the ground. The shoulders of Irene's shirt were certainly smoldering now, tiny holes beginning to form. She breathed heavily, chest rising and falling, her vision blurred, the girl's poor cheeks hollowed out from the amount of calories she had just burned.

From how quickly it ate away at her… several days must have passed. That would explain why running was ten times more painful than usual. She didn't have her regular amount of fat to burn. Her own ribs were throbbing, every movement forced, her lungs feeling pressured in more ways than one. Sharp needles pricked her abdomen, reaching up deep into her chest. It hurts so _freaking _bad; Irene wasn't even aware of the fact she was crying until she had to blink away the blurriness in her vision.

She tried to sit up, to move and catch up with the other children, but it was pointless. Irene was beaten, exhausted, _and _malnourished. It didn't matter how much adrenaline was pumping through her; she was just a kid. And being just a kid meant there was nothing else she could do when a fist suddenly made contact with her stomach- sending her flying back and causing both blood and what stomach acids she had left to expel from her lips.

Irene landed close to the pile of corpses- no, that wasn't right. She was _on _the pile of corpses, covered in brains and vomit and blood, and due to the angle her body ended up rolling lifelessly off of them and stopping close to the deceased green-eyed boy. There was a sickening _splash _as she hit a puddle of sick, and the old woman popped her back before making her way over to where the girl was laying. Irene was unconscious.

When she awoke again she was on some kind of metal table. A light from above blinded her, forcing her to squint and turn her head away, and from that angle she could make out a little cart covered in disturbing instruments. Was… Was that a scalpel? Oh gods. She was so tired, but her mind registered enough to leave her afraid. Irene tugged weakly at her arms, realizing they were strapped to the side, her ankles trapped at the foot of the table. That was when she began to thrash, panic welling up in her throat, as she tried desperately to get out of her bindings.

Through the pounding in her skull Irene could hear laughing. Her uncentered vision focused on the rotten face of the old crone, her cloudy red eye gazing down at her with terrible malice. "Don't be so scared, my pet. It'll be over shortly. Though not before I repay you for the treatment you gave my guards… Imperfect though they may be, they follow orders well enough. Soon a _true _and _perfect _Nomu will be formed. My master demands it. Hush now, my little doe…" Her fingers brushed Irene's face, the girl even more scared when she found she couldn't talk- a gag stuck in her mouth and muffling her voice. Something sharp began to dig into Irene's left arm, causing her eyes to squeeze shut as her back arched, a scream automatically trying to rip out of her throat. "Aw, don't close those eyes. They're really so pretty. Such a lovely brown… truly like a doe. Keehee… show me that fear one more time, won't you? I want to see them. Staring into my own…"

More muffled cries. Irene could only whimper when the scalpel moved and plunged deeper into her flesh, moving vertically along the back of her forearms, the madwoman repeating the process all over her flesh, dragging the blade down to her knuckles. Sometimes they would be long lines, other times they would be short and quick. Either way, it brought forth a pain Irene found indescribable and it was taking all her strength to not pass out. Sweat beaded down the sides of her face, a fever running through her body from all the stress.

"I wonder if it was true… what that boy said." She rolled up one of Irene's pants legs, cacking to herself as she flickered her single red-eye to the child asleep in a tube full of grotesquely green water. His clothes were gone. Did he and the others not get away? Where are the rest of the kids? Irene eventually stopped trying to scream, breath labored and stuttered, vision so unfocused she was seeing doubles. Blood was everywhere. "Healing is such a _rare _ability, after all. Master needs a healer. It might be a waste to try and put it into a Nomu, as imperfect as they are right now… maybe I'll send you up to my master instead. His injuries are so very bad right now. But I can still play with you until then, yes? My Nomu… hurt because of you…"

Irene was not prepared for the blade to twist in her shin.

"There was a bad battle three years ago, you know. Master almost didn't survive." The old crone muttered, seeming lost in thought as she made incision after incision. Irene's legs shook and she tried to free herself, but it only made things worse. The tears weren't even falling anymore; she had nothing left. She was so thirsty, so hungry, so sick. All she felt was pain and the hollowness in her chest. "But your healing would be a good solution, don't you think? You can fix him."

She set the scalpel down, moving forward and leaning down, gripping Irene's chin with her cold bony fingers, hurting her face and forcing her to stare her in the eye.

"Your sacrifice," She whispered, "is the key."

Irene whimpered, trying to plead for mercy from behind the gag, shaking her head weakly as her assailant stepped away. She watched as the crone picked up some kind of weird object, watching in fear as she used it to clamp one of the large incisions on her leg wide open. Despite her sore throat, despite the gag, and despite her muffled voice, Irene screamed as loudly as she could, as best as she could. It was utterly pointless.

"My master _must _survive, child. You _will _help me."

…

Time Bomb and All Might were at a loss of where to go. They had been expecting screaming or crying, or something of the sort, seeing as they were dealing with kidnapped children. What they hadn't been expecting, however, were those same kids bounding out from the left hall, tripping over themselves with their hands bound behind their backs. They were all crying, choking on their tears and stumbling over their words.

If the number one Hero didn't speak gibberish so well after having saved so many people, they might not have figured out what was going on. Apparently there were a bunch of Villains right behind the children and, even worse than that, was a crazy old lady in a white coat that was going to kill them. The rage inside this large man was fierce, boiling over like a volcano about to erupt, his teeth grinding together tightly as he thought about what these children must have been through. But, despite it, he kept his smile on his face- never letting it falter in fear of causing these children even more worry.

In fact, it was his smile that helped to comfort the children, calming them down enough to get normal speech from them. He even tried telling a few jokes, distracting them from their panic, even if his humor wasn't very good. It appeared to work, though Time Bomb wasn't having any of it. She lacked the patience he did and instead demanded answers, asking if that was all of them or if there were any other kids in the building. One child in particular began to sob, saying something about how there was girl that healed them all earlier. Another claimed that her brother must not have managed to get out of the room they were holed up in and started to wail, scared that they were all going to end up the like the "monsters" in the black room.

Time Bomb rushed on ahead, not bothering them a second glance since All Might was there, knowing he would take care of them. This left the number one hero exasperated, but he didn't take after yet. "Everything will be alright, little ones!" All Might told the small children, placing a hand on their heads and ruffling their hair individually, even picking one up and tossing them into the air to try and ease the tension they surely felt. It left them stunned and confused, but also filled them with great relief. His smile was so bright. "Why? Because I am here- and with the Spark Hero, no less! Tadaaaa~!"

He moved over and, ensuring the children were safely behind him, he let loose a powerful punch that sent a large shockwave through the walls- tearing through them until they could see the outside. The kids gaped in astonishment as he did that and, when they turned to thank him, were even more amazed to see that they were already outside huddled in a corner with All Might nowhere to be seen. The only thing that showed he had carried them, or was even there, was that trail of dust left in his wake. The kids flinched at the bright street lights, eyes taking a while to adjust, and gazed upon the outside with a wonder never like anything else before.

They realized, for the first time in their lives, just how beautiful it was. To admire the many cars and buildings after being trapped in a dark room for so long. To relish the fresh air that was untainted by death. And, due to All Might, the police were already on their way, reporters and paparazzi following close behind. The children, scared to go any farther without All Might for protection, huddled together in a small corner next to a dumpster, crying in silence and holding each other's hands- embracing the warmth that came from another.

All Might, hurrying after his companion, listened closely for the sounds of scuffling feet or even voices. He was able to locate Time Bomb easily as a result, the woman constantly blasting her way through the building and taking down any guards in her wake, nothing more than a mess of panicked fury, something in this case causing her to rage. What she had asked the children before- it seemed like something any Hero would ask to be sure that they had all the civilians ready to be saved, but there was something in her eyes… almost like a disappointment. A moment-struck horror that flashed through her expression when she took in the sight of the children. Like there was someone she was expecting to be there…

...that wasn't.

It would explain why she was so determined to do this case by herself. Did Time Bomb have a personal reason for being invested in this case? If that was so, then the mastermind behind the abductions must not have taken into account the sheer _ferocity _a single woman could have and the determination to save a small child that empowered her. When All Might arrived to the scene, it was just in time to see a blur of dark navy blue and red- Time Bomb blasting a door off of its hinges with a kick and an explosion. She burst through the air into the room, screeching at the top of her lungs with unbridled rage.

"You _fucking _bitch~!_"_

Time Bomb's tailcoat flew behind her as she landed, feet sliding across the floor with grace. She watched as instruments flew everywhere: syringes, scissors, blades, clamps, scalpels. They were obviously in a lab of some sort, test tubes filled with bright green liquid and lifeless bodies, children asleep inside of them, some even appearing unnaturally mutated. Resting atop of lab table, strapped and gagged, unmoving, was Irene. The one Time Bomb had been looking for. The old crone hovering above her was stunned, having not been prepared to face the wrath of a Hero.

She had so many guards around and inside the building that it should have been impossible for anyone to infiltrate the building. That was when it happened- Time Bomb sailed across the room, lunging with a speed impressive to even All Might, fire and smoke and _hate _filling the air, her steel-toed boots ramming hard with a blast to the madwoman's face. It sent the crone flying back into her equipment. Time Bomb watched as the instruments flew everywhere, hearing a satisfying _CRACK _as the old woman's head hit the table. The Spark Hero let out a deep breath, rubbing at her sore arms, fury and rage boiling down to a simmer as a wave of tiredness washed over. Her legs throbbed, body and Quirk overused.

Time Bomb so badly wanted to kill this person. She watched to rip that old crone to shreds.

Unfortunately, that would just make her a Villain… and she came here to save someone. All Might hurried over to the children in the tubes, blue eyes observing them and trying to ensure that they were all still breathing. Such monstrous, terrible… inhumane behavior… Who could ever do this to a child? He searched for controls of some sort, before smashing the glass and grabbing the kids before they could get hurt. All Might was fast and strong, after all. He was the number one Hero for a reason.

Still… it made him sick. Angry. His fury rivaled that of Time Bomb's at the moment, the man laying each child down carefully on the ground. When he turned around, he could see the woman hovering over the girl strapped to the table, horror in her gaze. Her hands were hovering frantically over the child's form, trying desperately to close up the wounds. Time Bomb had no idea what to do; she wasn't a surgeon, but anything would be better than nothing at this point if it got the blood to stop pooling out.

"I-Irene…!"

All Might watched from the side, smile finally gone. Those who did this… are the worst kind of Villains. He despised them with all his might, finding them disgusting and vile, and barely even human. They were monsters. He walked over slowly, not wanting to disturb the woman, and approached the unconscious crone. She wasn't moving. Time Bomb showed no mercy, knocking the opponent out as fast as possible. He then watched as Time Bomb tapped away at the frail girl's pale face, the child having mumbled something. The woman was trying desperately to keep the girl conscious. The gag was removed.

"Hey, hey, come on; stay awake! Don't you even- don't you _dare_!" When it failed to work, the woman grabbed the girl's arm and ripped out some cloth she carried with her in one of her bags, tying it around her flesh, attempting to put pressure on the wounds and keep them closed up. When that didn't work, she snapped at All Might to make himself useful and help her. "I-Irene, I sweat to _Hella _and all that is unholy that if you _die _on me-!"

"Irene?" All Might echoed, realization dawning as he tied cloth around the girl's injured legs. "So you do know the child?"

"She's my _sister_, damn it!" Time Bomb snapped, voice cracking. She was so emotional that her mind wasn't registering her words. Her shoulders shook ever-so-slightly as she checked the girl for any further injuries, horrified when she took note of the bruises covering her body. She was so thin, so frail, so weak. Irene was put through a living nightmare. Her ribs appeared to be cracked, maybe even broken. "What the hell- _fucking_… her Quirks are so _useless_…"

Sirens could be heard in the distance, but neither paid much attention to them. All Might stared at Time Bomb, watching as she fought against tears. "That boy…" He began, thoughts rushing through his mind, "he said he was "healed" by her?"

"Yes!? No? Probably, it…it's- _shit _if I know!" Time Bomb couldn't think straight; she was too filled with panic and the fear of losing another person. Her hands moved to undo the straps at her sister's wrists and feet. "I-It sounds like something she'd have done. She can heal other people, but not herself? I-It's so _stupid_."

That didn't sit well with All Might. Healing was an extremely rare ability, far from useless or stupid, and agencies all over the world sought after anyone with that sort of Quirk because of the constant disaster both nature and Villains wrecked upon citizens. The sirens int he distance were getting close now, louder. Voices were nearby. He knew now wasn't the time to argue, that this was a terrible time to bring it up, but so many thoughts and theories were rushing through his mind. A good portion of why he came to this place, aside from genuinely wishing to help, was because of a lead he had on _that _person. His nemesis. "It's an extremely rare and powerful ability!"

Time Bomb turned her head and glared at All Might, eyes red and barely holding back tears. "What does it _matter_ how rare it is!? It's completely useless if it can't save her in situations like these!"

Oh, how wrong she was. Still- they needed to get everyone to safety. This girl needed medical care fast; she lost too much blood and was in critical condition. Her body might not last much longer.

"She saved those children." He told her grimly, watching as she finished tying the last cloth. Blood was seeping through it, staining it red. "She may not be able to heal herself, but did save them. You shouldn't-"

"I don't _care _about who she can heal! What I _need _is for her to stop bleeding!"

"M… Maria?" A voice interrupted them, weak and raspy, barely audible. Irene's eyes were glazed over as she stared at the woman hovering above her, light struggling to remain in her gaze. The girl looked greatly confused, as if she weren't quite sure of what she was seeing. She spoke so quietly only the woman could hear her. "Ma-Maria…!"

"Irene." The hazel-eyed Hero responded in kind, leaning down so they were eye-to-eye. Her hand rested lightly on the girl's arms, pulling what was left of her mask off so Irene could properly see her face. She had it angled just right so that All Might couldn't see anything. Time Bomb, otherwise known as Maria, spoke softly. "Irene, hey… it's me. S-Sorry for not… being in touch more often."

"Y… You're… real…?"

"Of course, short-stop," She responded, voice cracking as she rested a hand gently against Irene's face. It was a warm touch, full of affection never before expressed to her. "I'm as real as it gets."

Irene stared up at the woman for a moment, as if still uncertain if she was seeing correctly, like she thought this was all a great big terrible dream. Then she gave a shaky smile, relief washing over her like a wave, tearing building up in her tired eyes. The girl struggled to remain awake, guilt soon taking over features. As she looked at the Hero all she could do was choke, lips curling back as she apologized, voice hardly more than a breathy gasp. "I'm… I-I'm sorry… I-I'm so sorry…"

"Just shut up, okay?" Maria said, blinking away her blurry vision and brushing off the girl's tears with her thumbs. "It's fine. You're fine. The damn police and ambulance are on their way and you are going to be _fine_."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Stop _apologizing _and shut up! Fucking- okay, here." Releasing her hold on the small child and putting her mask back on, the woman hoisted Irene up into her arms, holding her close. The small child weighed practically nothing in her current state. "Don't you _dare _die on me, y-you… you… argh! _All Might!_"

Time Bomb snapped her head over to glare at the blond giant, instantly capturing his attention with her loud voice. "Y-Yes?" He stammered, alarmed by how fierce and fiery she was at that moment. "What is it?"

"I'm going to search for the ambulance. You take care of the kids here and... I'll round up the rest. Got it? Good."

And with that she took off, not leaving any room for argument.

_Later, this incident in the U.S would become known as the __Chimera Kidnappings __case._

_It was the first and only case in America that the Symbol of Peace, All Might, and the Spark Hero, Time Bomb, have ever worked on together. It is also because of this case that Maria, as both a Hero and an older sister, began to ponder what the right path for Irene was. The child had nearly gotten herself killed saving multiple lives that day._

**Welp, here's my attempt at a BNHA story. XD **

**I'm really bad at writing anything other than fluff and angst, it seems. I love torturing characters too much. I know, I'm evil. Sorry. Welp, hopefully you lovelies enjoy this! Read and review! :3 **


	2. A New Life, A New Home

**So to fix up the plothole that was discovered, several ages were changed from canon. So Aizawa is actually 26 instead of 31 in this fic. Otherwise several chapters would have to be rewritten from the bottom up. **

_"Memories consume, like opening the wound; I'm picking me apart all assume I'm safe here in my room unless I try to start again~."_

A whole month had passed before Irene woke up again. Even after surgery and damage repair, the girl's body needed time to recover from the overuse of her Quirks and the beatings it had taken. During that point in time Time Bomb had been interviewed and track down by paparazzi more than once, all determined to get more information about the crime scene and her obvious attachment to the young girl. Due to multiple statements from the abducted children, Irene's actions and her Quirks were now known all over the web.

Footage of the crime scene had even been posted online, a couple of bystanders having been around after hearing all the ruckus going inside and having caught sight of All Might making his way into the building. Time Bomb refused to give them any specific details, simply stating that she was doing her job and that the child she was carrying had some serious wounds. It did little to deter them, however, as the Hero had been in hysterics- crying and yelling at the paramedics to hurry and take Irene to the hospital. No one could figure out the reason why, but it left many curious. Age and identity unknown, people assumed the two were related somehow. Rumors spread, but no one had been able to confirm anything.

While the girl was asleep All Might often dropped by, checking on her and waiting for the day when she would wake up. Every now and then he would find Time Bomb standing there, staring at the girl intently, her arms crossed and gaze conflicted. The doctors suspected Irene would never wake, especially since she had crashed once not long after the doctors performed surgery on her.

And yet she did- dazed and confused and frightened. Time Bomb was contacted immediately by the doctors, but it was she who appeared. It was Maria Thorn, a young arist in the making, and Irene was more than surprised to see her. The woman spoke to her about the crime, about how the police had arrested over forty-three Villains, and how all the bodies from the previous children were found and delivered to the morgue. The families were all contacted and they held joint-funerals, honoring the dead, and the children who _had _escaped with their lives were returned to their homes.

It was then revealed that some of the Villains had been children in the past that had been abducted, being survivors of the horrible incident. Many families were horrified, while others seemed to care less. It had been the beginnings ten years ago, but now it was at an end. Hearing all of this seemed to mess greatly with Irene's mental state. To her chagrin, the girl also had to remain in the hospital for the next couple of days to make sure that everything was functioning properly now that she awake. In that time she received another visitor- All Might.

He asked her how she was feeling and, unlike the authorities that had come in for her statement earlier and yelled at her for being foolish, having used her Quirks when she was not supposed to, All Might praised her. He said she did a wonderful thing by healing those other children and helping them escape, but very much like the police he had also scolded her by telling her not to be so rash in the future. He said he understood, given the situation, although it was still an incredibly risky thing to do. Her Quirks were for support, not for offense.

Irene lowered her head at his words, distraught and more than a little traumatized by the events that had previously occurred. She looked worse for fear, still so thin and pale, having been put through something a child her age should never have had to face. All Might saw this- he had seen _all _the children and the inside of the room they had been hiding in- and couldn't help but feel for her and everyone it was a selfish suggestion knowing that the child had been through so much, and a part of him wanted to remain quiet, but he remembered her actions and thought she should at least hear what he had to say.

All Might mentioned a school in Japan; an academy he had went to that taught him how to grow and become a Hero. "There's a woman working there- she has healing powers like you. If you ever so desire it, go there- learn from her and become one who saves others. Save them, like how you saved those children."

Irene snapped out of her disappointment, staring at him in shock. Her eyes shimmered with emotion, the child both moved and surprised by what he said. She was unable to bring herself to speak, having been silent for so long after awakening and not knowing what to say to this incredible person, and instead simply watched as he called out to nurse. The woman ended up so flustered by him talking to her that she practically threw the pen and paper that he asked for at him. All Might scribbled something down, holding the sticky note out to her.

Uncertain and confused, Irene weakly took the paper and read what was on it. Her muscles hadn't completely recovered from her month-long rest so her hand ended up falling on her lap. Her eyes stared blankly at the numbers written on the paper, not quite understanding. No, not quite _believing _what was wrote down. "This is…"

Heroes were not supposed to hand out personal information, especially those who kept their true identity secret. Him doing so- that was alarming. He was the number one Hero in both American and Japan, after all. The man held a finger up to his lips, grinning widely. "Our secret?" She hesitated, still uncertain about having such a large responsibility passed down onto her, before nodding. "Wonderful!"

"C… Can I… Can I tell Time Bomb though?" Her voice was so raspy. It was really the first time she spoke, save when those police officers interrogated her. "She…"

"Yes. But only her." He then promptly informed her that if she ever made up her mind about her future, then she should contact him. He would do his best to help her. Irene was greatly confused by his words and actions, not understanding why the Symbol of_ freaking_ Peace was willing to go so far. Were her Quirks really that important? Was it just her healing that he was after? She knew that crazy old woman wanted to send her to her boss, since he was injured and all, but to think it was so necessary that she should become a Hero? Irene didn't get it. "You are strong. You did what you could to help. I bet you didn't even think about it, did you? You just acted."

That's not… true. She thought it over many times. Yet when push came to shove… she couldn't go through with her plan at all. Her legs moved on their own out of sheer panic. Irene's breath caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut, lowering her head. He had it all wrong. She was a weakling. A coward. She almost died because of her incompetence- worse than that, others almost died. Irene nearly screwed them all over.

"Don't do that." Irene blinked, startled when she felt a hand suddenly lift her chin up. "Smile."

What? All Might beamed at her. He pulled his hand away, bringing his fingers up to the corner of his lips. Irene was so lost.

"Smile! Things aren't so scary when you're smiling, are they?"

Irene lowered her head, tilted it, furrowed her eyebrows, and blinked. At the moment, she couldn't really remember the last time she smiled. It feels like forever ago. How could she even smile- now that she knew her friends were merely liars that wanted nothing to do with her? They hadn't even noticed she was gone until everyone was taking roll-call. "I-I don't…"

"Those who smile, even in the face of danger, are the strongest."

Irene was never given a chance to properly respond, to mixed up in her thoughts and the heartbreak that came with. All Might stood and beamed brightly at her, reaching over and ruffling her hair, before taking off. Irene was left alone. For many months, his words had left a huge impact on her- who had felt like so much of a nuisance. They gave her… hope. When Irene's mother dropped by with her laptop one day after Irene had gotten a decent amount of maneuverability back in her limbs, Irene proceeded to research the school All Might had mentioned.

Her arms hurt to use and her walking wasn't all that great either, but she ignored the pain in favor of typing. All Might's number was now in her phone, the girl having completely shredded the paper and flushed part of it down the toilet, throwing the rest in the trash, in order to prevent anyone else from finding it, and even set his contact name to _Arthur _for extra safety. She had promised to keep it a secret after all. Although the name was based off of a character from a game she liked to play, as she thought the two were quite alike in a weird way. She had a feeling All Might was a thousand times luckier than him, though.

When the girl was finally discharged from the hospital a few months later the girl came to a decision. To Maria's disdain and the shock of their parents, Irene asked if she could go to Japan. Unfortunately…

...no one wanted her to leave the country.

After that incident her parents, on both sides, had her supervised left-and-right. Irene was never able to leave the house unless it was for school and she was forbidden from going on anymore field trips. She was constantly chaperoned; she wasn't even allowed to ride the bus anymore. When she was picked up at school she had to wait in the nurse's office until a family member arrived. Her classmates, and even people she didn't know, often asked her horrible questions- demanding what went on in the lab. They wanted to know if she obtained All Might's autograph. Irene's skin was covered with nasty scars, so to avoid any possible memory of the incident she tended to wear longer sleeves, or even ace wrap, with her gym uniform.

That raised multiple question, as did her new haircut. Bags formed under her eyes from the many sleepless nights she had and the girl often holed herself up in her room. Nightmares plagued her. Irene refused to see a psychotherapist, unable to bring herself to talk about her personal feelings to anyone or anything, and simply bottled up the fear and horrors as best as she could. Both her mother _and _her step-mother tried everything they could, and there had been one session- but it didn't go very well at all.

Months passed and despite the girl's continuous badgering her parents refused to give in to her single request. Her reclusiveness started grow worse in response. She smiled a lot less. The bubbliness the girl had despite her timid nature seemed to vanish. The drawings she used to be so proud of were hidden away and she never rambled about her favorite anime or book characters anymore.

It was only when Maria walked into Irene's room one day that they gave in. Irene was sitting in the corner of her bed, a stuffed doll of All Might beside her, surrounded by crumpled papers of failed drawings. The room was a mess and Irene's eyes were puffy and red, as if she had been crying. "Fine." Maria let out a heavy sigh of defeat, leaning against the doorframe. "You can do it."

Irene's body tensed, the girl slowly setting her notebook and pencil down, tilting her head and biting down on her bottom lip. She stared at Maria in confusion, not understanding from the lack of context what she was talking about. For a moment, her hand outstretched- as if to pick up the stuffed All Might doll before retracting it. "Wh… What?"

"The school," Maria answered, looking almost frustrated as she watched her little sister, "you can go to U.A. I'll even talk to the parents for you."

Irene didn't move. The woman shifted all her weight to one foot, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go on. Call the buffoon."

"I… I can- I can go?" Her brown eyes were wide, slowly growing misty as the gravity of the situation hit her. "I-I can actually go?"

The amount of pure _emotion _in her voice was so strong. Maria tried to not look too uncomfortable, the woman not knowing how to deal with small children or tears very well. "Yeah. I'll go with you, too, so tell the Big Oaf. I ran away once; if the parents don't allow it I'll just bring you with me this time."

The female hero was far from prepared when Irene suddenly shot out of the bed and dashed forward, tackling her around the waist. The girl was trembling, almost as if she was about to start crying again. Irene then pulled away, hands waving excitedly in front of her as her mouth opened-and-closed, the girl struggling to find the words to express her excitement before she clambered back onto her bed, picking up her phone. It was the closest she looked in a long time to being happy.

And just before she began to go through her contacts to find him, Irene looked at Maria and stammered an extremely grateful and shy, "Th… Thank you." The woman nodded. She was about to walk out, but then Irene called out to her again. Maria felt almost exasperated as she turned, seeing the girl sitting on the bed awkwardly, a nervous expression on her face. "Um… wh-what exactly should I tell him?"

The freaking child didn't know how to talk to other people anymore. Of fucking course. Maria brought a hand up to her head and sighed, walking over and taking a seat next to her. The woman then proceeded to instruct her on _what _to say the man, only to end up putting the device on speaker so Maria could help Irene talk to the Hero in the ruse of her being Time Bomb.

Before they knew it… two years had passed. Time Bomb was a rather well-known Hero by now and had solved more than enough crimes that the government, with a little help from a certain Symbol of Peace, set up a residence near the school for Irene and Maria to live in. It was a three bedroom house with a kitchen, a bathroom, and an average sized living room. At least, that's what All Might had told them.

Apparently he had been the one to pick it out, even though he had only just recently returned to Japan himself. He took it upon himself to write an official recommendation to the school, only angering Time Bomb as she believed her own letter would have been enough, and due to the great necessity of healing Quirks the world Irene had been "accepted" as a special exception. However, she would only truly get in if she managed to pass the written exam.

"I-I feel like this is cheating," Irene muttered, watching as Maria argued with All Might through the phone as they waited for the airplane to arrive to their destination. The number one Hero still had no idea of Time Bomb's true identity, which certainly made things interesting. Irene shifted in place in her seat, uncomfortable. "Is it… really okay to- uh, you know, get in like this?"

With dread in her stomach and anxiety claiming her heart, Irene tried not to think too much about what the students or teachers in the school would be like. She had grown up a lot since the incident and had shaved off the majority of her hair, so she hoped no one would recognize her. They going into a different country after all. What were the chances of someone knowing who she is?

Taking a deep breath, she focused on designing a costume again- trying to find a design she liked best and would feel most comfortable wearing. She loved layers and sleeves, so that was a must. Colors, however, were more challenging… and she just couldn't come up with anything good. She had an artist block. Frig.

Several hours later, the two rather jetlagged, Irene stumbled out of the plane.

…

I held the cat carrier as carefully as could, intent on not irritating the eleven-year-old cat inside. It was hard, especially considering I was following Maria like an awkward shadow, my free hand pinching the strap of her purse. She was walking quickly through the air, unperturbed by the how much luggage she was carrying nor by how heavy it all was. I always knew she was strong, but seeing her hold all that weight so easily was… kind of cool, actually.

It would be nice if I could do that, too. Letting out a sigh, I looked down at the cat carrier and mentally apologized to the animal inside. She really hated travelling, even more than anything. It gave her so much stress and caused her to shed a lot. The poor thing. If she weren't Maria's closest companion and someone I deeply enjoyed cuddling with, we might have left her back home in America.

"So…" I quietly began, clutching the strap a bit tighter when I saw just how many people there were surrounding us. "Uh, wh-who are we supposed to meet again?"

I knew airports would be busy, but this was suffocating. What was going on in their minds? I hoped none of them were plotting anything horrible. It would be easy to cause chaos in a place like this with a bunch of civilians. All the damage, all the death… no one would even be suspecting of it. They're all living so peacefully, not at all scared someone could activate their Quirk and create a commotion.

Maria yawned, sharp canines poking out from behind her lips. "My friend." She blinked a few times, still groggy from the flight. "Hizashi Yamada. Er, Yamada Hizashi, technically, since he's Japanese. Fucking hell." Maria looked down at me. "He's an old friend; I met him when his class took a trip overseas. You'll know him when you see him; trust me. He's impossible to miss."

"Okay…" We continued walking, eventually getting to a spot with even _more _people who were all trying to meet up with their hosts and/or family members. I stayed near Maria, looking around for anyone that stuck out, but in the world of Quirks unusual appearances weren't that… _unusual_. It made differentiating someone who could have been my sister's friend a lot more difficult than need me. "I-I don't see anyone…"

"Wait for it."

"What?"

She smiled down at me, holding a finger in the air. "There... hear it?"

I was just about to protest, to tell her that I couldn't hear anything except the loud bustling of the airport, but then I caught wind of some kind of humming noise. It grew louder and louder, becoming more human, gradually turning into a voice. Bothered by the sound disturbing my ears, I turned to look in the direction it came from. To my alarm I saw a young man waving a large sign around- the word _THORN_ written in very bright neon coloring. Blond hair pulled back into a messy half-bun, the man wore a black leather jacket overtop a pale orange shirt. Blue jeans and dress shoes to accompany them, he had a beaded necklace around his neck with a pair of red glasses over his vibrant green eyes.

"MARIAAAAAA~!"

My breath caught in my throat when the man's eyes locked onto mine, and all I could do was watch as he discarded the sign and began to make his way over excitedly. There was no way- this person isn't Hizashi, is he!? He's so loud and bubbly. I'm not sure I can handle this. I watched as Maria dropped the suitcases she was carrying, the woman raising her arms up to catch the blond man as he jumped into the air to tackle her. I yelped, stumbling back in alarm, nearly falling over as a result. The cat inside the carrier let out an anxious meow, scratching as the sides to try and get out.

"MARIA!" The man exclaimed, practically yelling with how loud his voice was. "IT'S BEEN SO LONG!"

"Gods, you've barely changed since you were in High School!" Maria laughed, releasing him and looking up. He was quite tall, his English accent rather heavy. It clear that it wasn't his first language. "How've you been? What about Shōta? _Fuck_, you didn't tell him I was here, did you?"

The man pulled back and waved one of his hands dismissively, chuckling loudly and striking a rather weird pose as he placed his other hand on his hip. "Nope! _Never! _I'll leave the introductions up to you~ needs to be a surprise, yeah!? He's so stiff all the time!"

"Hasn't he always been that way?" Maria retorted, furrowing her eyebrows with a short laugh. "He was always so quiet; the only thing that kept him awake were the cats at that one cafe-"

"He's _way _worse now." The man complained. "Hero work has him dried out due to the nature of his Quirk- and the years he spent working as a teacher _really _made him a stiff. I have to drag him to every event we go to!"

"I thought you dragged him everywhere regardless." She deadpanned. I looked back-and-forth between them, wondering why I hadn't heard about these friends of hers until a few hours ago. She seemed so happy talking with him and chatting about this Shōta man. I moved to hide behind my sister, carefully setting the cat carrier on top of one of the suitcases. So much fur had been shed inside; I felt so bad for the poor cat. "Anyway, thanks for meeting with us!"

"No problemo~! I'm surprised you haven't threatened me for hugging you yet. " He grinned, showing off a toothy smile.

"Eh, you have a pass right now. It's been a long time." My sister sassed, amused. I stepped closer to Maria, reaching to grab onto her jacket, but her hands suddenly planting themselves on my shoulders caused me to let out a yelp as I was dragged in front of her. "Also! This is the kid I was telling you about. She's going to be a student at U.A. Hopefully. "

I froze up when the man looked down at me, a spike of fear shooting down the back of my spine. My reaction was instantaneous upon being thrust in the spotlight: shoulders tensing up, hands curling against my chest as I tried to shrink as much as possible into the hood of my oversized jacket. Green eyes bore down at me, intense and brimming with curiosity, and from past experience I honestly expected him to burst out with multiple questions- cold questions, cruel questions, questions centering around All Might and the Villains that had been arrested two years ago. His gaze flickered towards Maria- who gave him a dark smile- and then he leaned down closer to my height.

I flinched, foot sliding back, and I accidentally bumped into Maria's chest. "Yo, listener~ glad to see you're doing well!" He spoke in a much softer tone than he had with my sister, but it was still rather loud. "My name is Yamada Hizashi. I'm one of the teachers at U.A!"

"Wh… What?" The words had to be forced out. Maria's hands, which were still on my shoulders, gave a light squeeze of encouragement.

"I teach English." He explained, waving an index finger in the air with a grin. "It being your first language I'm sure you'll do just fine! Once you get into the school, speak up if you have any problems; I'll help you."

I couldn't move; I couldn't react. I simply stood there in silence, staring at him with big eyes. Why were they all acting so certain I would get in? Wasn't there an exam I still needed to take- for the sake of professionalism or something of the like? It was only when Maria's arms slid down and wrapped around me that I snapped out of it, inhaling sharply and turning my head to look at her.

"Hizashi is a good guy, Irene." She promised. "He's a bit weird, but you can trust him. Shōta, too, when you meet him. Man, how am I going to explain you to him…?"

Maria looked positively stumped. I couldn't really blame her; it wasn't until the incident that we actually began to talk again. I'm assuming she knew them before then, anyway, considering they had kept in contact overseas. The email Hizashi received a few months ago was probably the first time he's ever heard of me.

Well, you know, aside from the news.

"Irene?" The blond blinked, a strange look flickering in his green eyes before they shifted to look at Maria. His gaze then trailed down to me, then back up at Maria, and this continued for a few moments. There was something weird in that expression, as if some serious realization had occurred to him, but that looked vanished as quickly as it had come as he pressed his hands to his face excitedly. "You two look so much alike~! You even have the same pointy ears and fangs! You're like kittens!" As if to exaggerate his point, he brought his hands up to the tops of his head and pointed his index fingers upwards as if to gesture for ears.

Maria scoffed at that. "Excuse you. I am a majestic _lioness_. Irene is the kitten."

"...My patronus _is _a Manx cat…" I murmured quietly, biting down on my lip. My stomach rumbled a little, pleading for food, but I ignored it. Through these two years I had been trying to constrict myself to a no-running routine and as such had managed to put on quite a bit of weight. My body wasn't used to it due to having such a non-consistent diet throughout most of my life. Still staring at the ground, I tilted my head with furrowed brows and asked, "Aren't you a basset hound…?

"I'm still pissed about that." Maria scowled, pulling away and leaning down to pick up the suitcases she had let go of earlier. "Like, fuck yeah I got Newt Scamander's patronus- but _fuck, _man, I'm a cat person! Look at Ichigo!"

The cat carrier resting on one of the suitcases was dramatically gestured to. Inside was an anxious, shedding tortoiseshell cat that _hated _moving places. She pawed at the metal door, half-colored face pressing against it in a desperate attempt to escape. She let out a pitiful meow and Maria made a face, looking utterly distraught.

"Oh, baby... I'm so sorry; we'll be home soon. Just bear with me a little longer."

"_Baby?_ Wait, _that's _Ichigo!?" Hizashi exclaimed, suddenly greatly excited. He moved forward, kneeling down and reaching his fingers into the cage in an attempt to pet the older cat. "I've heard so much about you~! Shōta would kill to see you if he knew about this!"

Maria stiffened at that and I was surprised to see her normally pale cheeks flush red. She scowled and turned her head away, worrying her bottom lip. I blinked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her actions. Why did she look so flustered? Was she coming down sick? "Yeah, well, she's the best damn majestic cat in this whole world, so… unsurprising."

Hizashi paused at her words and shifted to get a glance at her face. A strange expression appeared on his face before a knowing grin spread across his lips. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you, too. It's been over ten years!"

Maria nearly blanched at that. "What? Seriously? That long?"

He stood and swayed his body from side-to-side, humming loudly. "Yeah~! You were still in Middle School when we came over; you're like twenty now, aren't you? I'm twenty-six and Shōta will be hitting twenty-six in November."

_"Damn!_ And no; I'm twenty-_one_. Close, but no dice."

Hizashi laughed and waved his hand. "Ah~ details, details! Anyway, let's get you gals moving, _yeah?_ You remember the address to your house?"

"Naturally." Maria told him with a smirk, seeming to have recovered from her previous red-faced spell.

…

After we arrived Yamada Hizashi helped us unload and unpack, but could only stay for a few hours before he received a phone call. He explained that he had to leave to help prep for the entrance exam the other kids would have to take in order to get into U.A. When he saw me panic he quickly waved me off, saying that because I was recommended for my healing quirk I did not need to take the practical exam.

I _did _have to take the written exam, but since I wasn't going to the practical I could just take the written one online. I found it rather odd, but I decided not to question it since the main reason I was here was because of the efforts of other people.

I should just count the blessings and be grateful.

I had three days before I had to actually take it and it would be covering around some fairly common things, so I wasn't too terribly worried… but Maria made me study. I understood the majority of the subjects, but when it came to math my brain just shut down completely. I helped Maria arrange some of the furniture around the house, but it didn't take long for her to push me away and back to my room to try and fill in some science study guides.

I munched on some honey barbeque flavored jerky during this, still trying to build up some more weight. Though I hadn't ran for a while I didn't want to risk falling apart if I did move faster than a regular shuffle. I did my best to keep a hold of my actions, but my ADHD made it difficult sometimes. With a heavy sigh I flipped to another page, reading it before setting it down and picking up a history book. History was one of my stronger suits; it was mostly a bunch of a memorization processes, but once I take the test I'll probably end up forgetting most of it.

_A lot of this was back in what we learned in Middle School, _I noted with curiosity, seeing how it brought up the creation of quirks and how it was first found because an infant was glowing with a bright light. _That was in China… wasn't it?_

Hm. The test might not be too hard, though I doubted I would score very well on the math portion. Turning my head, I looked down at the All Might doll I had brought with me from America. That Hero was the reason I was here.

Even if I was scared of social interaction… I still need to actually get into U.A. The people helping me can only do so much after all; passing the test would require _me _alone. It doesn't have to be a hundred percent, but a high enough grade that I can still get in. Above a seventy-five, at least, though I was hoping for maybe an eighty four. Man, this is stressful.

I shivered and dropped my book, grabbing hold of my right hand when it had started to shake. _It's fine. You'll be fine. Just pass the test; you don't need to talk to anyone o-or try to be friendly once you're accepted. Your only goal is to pass the classes, get your Hero's permit, and graduate with a license. _Social interaction is not something that is necessary to graduate.

Besides, Maria said Hizashi would be one of the teachers… so if I had any questions I can just talk to him about things. He freaked me out a little, but I'd rather talk to someone my sister trusts than anyone else. People…

People are liars. They keep you around for convenience and then ditch you the moment they're tired of putting up with you. I don't need friends. I just need to pass. I need to get through this and not let All Might or Maria down.

They got me this far… so I have to carry myself the rest of the way. Right?

Partially calmed down, I released my hand and took a shaky breath. _I can do this. _Picking up the textbook I began to read again, memorizing each paragraph to the best of my abilities. I supposed it was a good thing I memorized easier by reading than by listening. A couple minutes passed and there was a knock on my door.

Opening, Maria peered in and called out to me. "Hey, short-stop; I still need to go grocery shopping before I can cook anything for dinner. Do you wanna come with?"

I squinted my eyes at her, trying to decipher her words. Heading out to the airport was the first time I was ever actually allowed to leave the house outside for school reasons, so I wasn't sure if she was being genuine or if she was sarcastically telling me to come along so I wouldn't be home alone. "I… guess. Um. Okay?"

The parents never seem too concerned with my being home alone; so long as the doors were locked, they didn't care much. Maria, however, seemed to be a little more protective than them. I watched as a small smile formed on her lips. "Alrighty. Get your shoes on then; we're walking."

I made a face as Maria left the room. The house was close to the school, not to the supermarket… weird. Eh, well, different country different customs, I guess. Sliding off the bed and grabbing my jacket, I pulled it on overtop my turtleneck and left the half-decorated bedroom. Maria was already at the door with her black trench coat and beanie. Walking over, I slipped on my sneakers and latched my arm around hers.

The walk to the store wasn't as long or harrowing as I had previously believed it to be. The only thing that really bothered me was all the people that were outside; walking passed us or across the street, all either on their phones or speaking with their companions. I moved closer to Maria when seeing this, paranoid about how one of the people could act out or do something-

Whether it be activating their Quirk and causing a crime scene, or by grabbing a person...

It was terrifying imagining all the possible scenarios. Knitting my eyebrows together to the point that it hurt, I pushed back all the memories trying to force their way to the forefront of my mind and instead focused on the ground. Watching each step, memorizing the patterns of the sidewalk, and keeping a firm hold of my sister's arm.

When was the last time I had been to a store?

"You okay?" I heard Maria ask quietly. Not trusting myself to speak I simply nodded. "We're almost there- deep breaths. You'll be okay."

Maria is a Hero. If anything happens she'd be able to put a stop to it. As long as I'm with her I'll be safe.

Before long we finally made it to the supermarket. It wasn't as busy as it was outside, thankfully, but there were still a lot of people. I could see a whole crowd surrounding a nearby corner, all of them looking up at the television that was attached to a wall. I stopped walking, attention caught by the screen. Maria- feeling the tug on her arm when she made to continue- paused and looked down at me in confusion before following my gaze.

On the screen was a rough recording of a man running along buildings- magma from his feet sinking into the bricks to act as placeholders. His suit was entirely ablaze with fire, the man's crystalline blue eyes boiling with a cold rage; his sight was set on one thing and one thing only- the task at hand. He ignored everything else around him as he reached out in front of him towards the Villain- flames swirling and exploding out from his palms to melt the opponent's armor.

_"-been two months since the Villain Black Smelting had gone out and started stealing from Support Companies. The Number Two Hero is going all out against him, cornering him. He can't fight back now- not when Endeavor has forced him to discard his weapons!"_

Hearing the screams of the Villain forced me to turn my head away, eyes closing as I tried to force out the sounds of terrified children that were attempting to come to mind. Taking a deep breath, I made myself look back at the scene- only to see burns all over the Villain's body from where he had gotten his armor melted. The gauntlet-guns that had been attached to his arms were picked up by the police.

_"The criminal mastermind that had targeted multiple Support Companies and stolen their items for his use has been defeated! Another impressive victory for Number Two! Not only has Endeavor busted over twelve villains for their continuous drug dealings and robbery, but he also has finally caught Black Smelting! Truly a wonderful day for our great Hero. Why don't we head down and see what he has to say on the matter?"_

I could feel Maria pulling on my arm, her hazel eyes dark with hatred as she glared up at the Hero on the screen. I knew Maria never liked Endeavor; she found him too harsh, too aggressive with his fire. She believed him to be disrespecting his Quirk, using it for his own means rather than respecting it as fire should be. Fire burns, after all, and it burns _bright_.

She felt Endeavor was smothering it with his furious climb to the top.

I didn't complain as Maria dragged me away, finding a hard time trying to stomach the battle that had just taken place. I didn't particularly like Endeavor- he was far too violent and aggressive for my tastes- but I didn't completely despise him like Maria did. He just… scared me. Not only in the way he fought or defeated his opponents, but because of his eyes.

Such an intense cruelty for any of those who would stand in his way...

I held on to Maria's hand as she looked through the different types of pasta- the woman deciding which would be best for dinner tonight. "You've never had soba, have you?" She asked curiously, catching my attention. I shook my head, answering her question through silence. "Ah. Thought so. I like it, so you might as well. I'll get it then."

Maria put the item in the basket and turned, about to walk away- only to stop abruptly to avoid crashing into someone.

"Whoa! Sorry, love." She quickly apologized, looking down to see who it was. A young woman stood there, glasses resting over a pair of grey eyes. White hair with strips of red fell over her shoulders and into her face, a timid voice stammering out,

"N-No, it's-it's okay. I wasn't watching. Please forgive me." The stranger gave a polite bow. "Excuse me."

I stared after her as she quickly darted away, surprised by how pretty she was. She had such gentle features, but she appeared quite frightened by Maria. That left me dumbfounded, for Maria wasn't that scary a person. She could be intimidating, yes, but scary? I didn't understand it.

Fingers tightening around my own, I glanced up at my sister. She had a strange look on her face- as if contemplating something better left unsaid. It was as if she was bothered by what happened. "Maria?" I called out, tugging on her hand lightly. The woman jolted, snapping out of it. "Are you okay?

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry." Eyebrows furrowed, she shook her head. "Don't mind me. What were we getting again?"

I tilted my head, staring at her and trying to decipher what exactly was wrong. Her eyes met mine, but instead of the usual light I saw her hazel orbs were instead glazed over with a strange sadness. "Tea bags…?"

"Yeah. Right. Okay." She nodded. I bit the inside of my cheek as she started to drag me along again, wondering what I could say and if speaking up would even do anything at all for her. More televisions lined the walls throughout the store, leaving us subject to Endeavor's interview. "Fucking prick," Maria growled, "he thinks he's so fucking great; "look at me- I have a big massive beard made of fucking _flames_ and a mustache to boot"! Prick."

I tried not to flinch too much at the angry tone in her voice. Instead, I focused on looking around the aisles we were in, staring at some of the food items, before my attention was taken by the same woman we had bumped into earlier. She was at the end of the aisle near the canned food, looking at us with big surprised eyes.

"I hope his flames _engulf _him." Maria continued to rant, voice a low hiss. I looked up at her in alarm and then back at the other woman, realizing she was staring directly at my sister. "It's nature, meant to be respected and treated as a friend, but instead he uses like its- its just a _tool!" _

Boxes of teabags were tossed into the basket and Maria turned, observing the shelves with heated eyes.

"And all these people think he's this great guy! I mean, _seriously!? _All Might isn't any better with how freaking exaggerated he is, but at least he doesn't he use his power disrespectfully! He _cares _about the people he's saving! But Endeavor, oh no- he'll burn anything that gets in his path."

I was extremely nervous now. The woman at the end of the aisle was completely frozen, looking almost as though she had been slapped in the face. Absolutely freaking out at this point, I stopped walking and let go of Maria's hand. The woman stopped ranting and looked down at me in confusion. "I…" I hesitated, mouth opening and closing as I struggled to find the words.

Raising the back of my hand to my mouth, I settled for gesturing to the woman watching us. Maria turned, eyes full of curiosity when she saw the woman from earlier. Seeing that she was caught, the woman quickly packed up her things and dashed off in the direction of the cashiers.

Maria was completely blank-faced before turning back around to grab a bag of sugar. "Someone doesn't like a difference of opinions."

For some reason I didn't think that was quite it. She didn't look offended- the stranger just seemed… troubled? Is that the word for it? Probably not. Before long, Maria and I got back to shopping, and were already on our way home. Most strangers disturbed me and set my anxiety on edge, but that woman…

The look in her eyes made me want to hug her.


	3. Maria Thorn: Origin

_"I don't want to be the one the battles always choose. Cause inside I realize I'm the one confused."_

I managed to pass the test, but just barely. My heart wouldn't stop pounding during the exam and I double-guessed myself on nearly every answer. My math scores were so bad that if it weren't for everything else I wouldn't have passed at all. Tears of relief actually started spilling from my eyes once the initial shock of passing went away.

The rest of the day mainly went on by me wandering about dumbfoundedly because I _still _couldn't properly process the fact that hey- guess what? I actually passed the test! I had been so freaked out by the possibility that I could fail that I found difficulty in believing what actually happened.

I ended up heating the left-over soba from dinner a few nights ago, but got so invested in fixing up the design for my hero costume that I ended up eating only after it had gotten cold.

_This needs to be sent in today…_

A grimace escaped me as I thought about it, still unsatisfied with the appearance of my costume. Feeling the table vibrate, I turned my head and felt a small surge of panic when I saw the notification pop up on the screen. Alarmed, I jumped out of my chair and dashed over to the living room, skidding on the carpet to come to an abrupt stop when I realized what I just did. "Oh _no_…"

How many seconds was that? How fast did I run? How much weight did I just lose?

My fingers, which were already quite thin to begin with, pressed lightly against my stomach. The small amount of pudge I had built up had sunk a little. I lowered my head in defeat as I dragged my feet over to the couch, picking up the remote and turning on the news channel. Maria was going to be really mad at me when she gets home- _after _she's done raging about the villain, that is.

She had left me alone with the cat, but only after making sure all the alarms and locks were in place and instructing me on where all the swords and daggers she owned were in case someone did break in. Worst case scenario I ended up using my life-sized Kingdom Key she got me for my previous birthday, which I always kept in my room. But then, after all that, she left- off to meet with the man called Shōta. She and Hizashi worked really hard to come up with the perfect reveal; Hizashi was supposed to call Shōta and get him to show up at a meeting place, and then Maria would show up in Hizashi's stead.

But if the news alarm on my phone was any indicator… the plan was ruined.

Sitting down, the unique tortoiseshell cat climbing up on my lap, I watched as the screen flashed with explosions and green vines.

_"There she is! The American Hero~! Time Bomb is at the scene, fighting ferociously against the robber! He appears to have some Quirk that allows him to turn the fingers on his hands into long, thorny vines! Fire burns grass, so I do believe the Spark Hero is at an advantage here!"_

Che. Time Bomb doesn't _use _fire. Fingers running worriedly through Ichigo's long fur, I bit down on my lip and watched the scene.

_"-what is this!? Time Bomb has been caught! Was the Villain's Quirk the one really at an advantage!? What a twist! She's not been in Japan long, but has Time Bomb met her match?"_

I was quickly getting annoyed with this reporter. She sounded more like an announcer viewing a spectacle rather than someone reporting a crime scene; at least the one at the store sounded more serious. Time Bomb wasn't going to lose to some bad guy- she was too strong. She'd defeat him in a few minutes; she just got distracted. I could feel Ichigo press her face into my hand, cold nose rubbing against my palm.

_"Just a moment! Time Bomb managed to explode the vines holding her captive; the tables have turned! She's running, she looks quite furious- and what's this? She's injured! Was she cut by the thorns that were binding her earlier?"_

Okay, seriously, someone needs to tell this reporter to be quiet.

_"Time Bomb appears to have left a rather strong blow; the robber is having trouble getting back onto his feet! Has she won?"_

Time Bomb looked exhausted. Blood dripped from her arms and legs, staining the ground she walked on. The reporters went down to interview her after the police showed up to arrest the unconscious robber, but Time Bomb promptly ignored them and walked away. Normally she tried to talk to them for a few minutes, but with her anemia she needed to have her injuries treated immediately.

Turning off the TV and apologizing to Ichigo for making her move so I could head to the kitchen, I picked up my phone and messaged Maria.

_I: You okay? I saw the news. Do you want me to heal you?_

Her cuts won't stop bleeding no matter how much pressure is put on them, so best case scenario would be that I heal her. I did once, too, after she got in a huge accident and shattered the bones in her arms many years ago. The driver's SUV had a massive ident of two hands in the front from where she had blasted it with her Quirk to stop it.

If I hadn't acted out on my own and healed her then she wouldn't have full use of her arms now…

_Maria, please be okay. Get home soon._

I sat down at the table, staring at my phone for what felt like forever. After a while it finally went off and I straightened my back, picking it up and sliding the screen.

_M: Healing would be nice, yes. Almost home. Had to change out of my costume._

Right. That made sense. Okay; she's on her way. Thank goodness. I-I can wait then. Taking a deep breath I picked up my pencil, staring at the lines on the page in front of me. Maria will be home soon, so until then I need to finish this. It was just difficult- both because of concern for my sister and because of the frustration that every outfit I drew was not something I would actually wear.

I didn't want to show off; I didn't want to wear something that wouldn't properly accommodate my Quirk. I needed clothes that would suit me and my ability, and wouldn't start smoking or getting burnt up after too many seconds of running. I also needed to be able to have either pockets or little pouches I could keep food or medicine inside.

But _what _would I be comfortable wearing?

A thought suddenly hit me. _Maria. Her costume has belts with pouches on it. _She keeps all sorts of little knick knacks in there. And the design, though a little fancy and intricate, was well-fitting for her and it worked perfectly with her Quirk. She even designed it with the thought for co-op attacks with her friend, Power Cord. _Maybe I can… base it around that or something?_

I wouldn't copy the design entirely, but I was going to draw some major inspiration from it. Such as the tailcoat, the turtleneck, and the boots. It was far more feminine than Maria's steampunk-ish design, the coat I was making buttoned and giving off a slight hint of Victorian-esque fashion. The coat's sleeves would flare out and stop a few inches above the wrist, accompanied with ruffles.

My turtleneck would have very long sleeves, so to hide the scars on my arms. I would have two belts with bags on the front of my thighs for easy accessibility, boots with shock absorption, and… a mask! Not like Maria's, where it hides the lower half of her face, but instead I would have it cover my eyes. A cat-eyed mask, to fit with my facial features.

A rare grin formed on my face as I sketched it out, a surge of excitement flowing through me. "This part'll be green and this black, a-and the sleeves can be like this light color; where are the colored pencils!?" I would normally scan and color it on my laptop using an art program, but that would take too long. I had to send it in before the deadline.

I stood and shuffled as fast as I could to one of the many boxes labelled "Art Supplies" that were in the living room and rummaged through it. When I found the pencils I went back to the table, and was halfway through coloring it and making little notes on the sides when the front door opened. I stopped what I was doing immediately and stood, seeing Maria hunched over with blood-stained sleeves and pants legs, a metal suitcase in her hands.

Back slamming against the door to close it, Maria let the suitcase fall to the floor and proceeded to wobble into the living room. Her eyes were misty and livid with anger. In my panic I nearly began to run again in an attempt to make my way over to her as fast as possible, but caught myself just in time and ended up stumbling instead. With a yelp- one foot catching the other- I crashed face first into the carpet. And though pain blossomed throughout my nose and wrists, I ignored it in favor of my sister- wishing to get her injuries treated as quickly as possible.

The sight of blood leaking out of her wounds caused a horrible twist inside my stomach, this… _dagger _in my chest, memories of dark rooms and dead children coming to mind. I had been all too prepared to heal my sister seconds ago, but now it was taking all I had not to have a panic attack. My breathing was unnatural as I helped my sister to the couch, setting her down as gently as possible before kneeling down to help her with her shoes.

_-not there, I'm not there, I'm not there-_

Maria let out a shout and nearly kicked me in the face when I pulled her right shoe off, accidentally using a little too much force than necessary. I flinched and apologized, and automatically got to removing her sock. I needed to touch bare skin for the healing to work.

_-I'm okay, I'm okay, it's okay, I'm okay-_

My sister grit her teeth together and tried to steady her own breathing, most likely dizzy from all the bloodloss.

_-you're home, you're safe, you're with Maria! Heal Maria-_

Reaching out, vision gold with the flickering lights of fireflies, I placed my hands on her bare foot and focused on transferring my stamina to Maria.

"Fucking Villain," She bit out, "everything was _ruined! _I- _fuck! _God damn it; Mic went through all the trouble of setting up the meeting a-and then- _I'm so pissed!_ He had to cancel it on him! The fucking Villain showed up and I was the only Hero there, so I had to take care of it and the thorns- fucking _thorns; _how ironic is that!?"

The energy spread from my hands into her legs, seeping into the rest of her body and healing her wounds. The strength she had lost was restored and her heart- which was trying to pump blood and replace what was lost- was given a little extra help. Blood from her injuries had dripped onto my fingers, only serving to aggravate my mental state more, but I forced myself to remain still. I had to wait until her wounds were no more.

Once I was satisfied I allowed myself to let go, pulling away with a frantic twitch as the feel of the sticky warm liquid got to me.

-_no, no, no- it's not; don't think- don't remember- CALM-_

Memories were coming back at full force and I found myself pressing my face into the side of my left arm, unable to relax and unable to breathe normally. The darkness, the stains, the green eyes, the blood- all of it was there; the fear, the adrenaline, the pain… I could still remember it all so vividly.

_-we're not there, I'm not there, I'm here; focus! Maria. Think of Maria-_

The hands on my shoulders helped to bring me out of it, fingers digging into my shoulders and hazel eyes staring intensely at me. Maria, who was having an attack of her own kind earlier, was now in front of me and checking to see if I was alright. Trying to focus on the here-and-now, I waited for my hands to stop shaking before pulling away. "I-I'm okay. Um."

I blinked, eyebrows knitting together as I thought about what to say. Maria had to still be upset about the Villain, so I should say something about that… I think. Anything to cheer her up and to get my mind away from the past.

"Y-You and Hizashi can reschedule, right?" Maria frowned, noticing the change of subject, and scowled upon recollection of the interrupted meeting. The woman released a heavy sigh, plopping her rear on the carpet floor and running her hands down her blood pants legs. "You can... still meet."

"Yeah… but now it'll have to wait until _after _you start school. Shōta isn't an idiot; he'll have most likely figured it out by then." She brought her hands up, ruffling her hair, before pressing her palms against her closed eyes. "Everything's gone to hell, Irene…"

Words and scenarios flashed through my mind, but nothing sounded particularly good to cheer or console her. My own chest felt empty- but with a coldness and hurt that made me feel numb. Perhaps that was why it was difficult to think of something, or maybe it was just because I was inadequate to handle social situations.

Not knowing what else to do I simply scooted over and leaned forward, resting my forehead on her shoulder. Maria tensed at the contact before relaxing, reaching out and resting a hand on my head. I wanted to apologize, to say _anything _that would fix this situation, but I doubted it would help.

"I don't know what to do." Maria murmured softly. Her voice wavered slightly. "All the planning went to hell because of the Villain, but… what if Shōta doesn't even want to see me? It's been so long a-and after what happened with Oboro, he..."

She went quiet. If my hands weren't still covered in blood I would have sat up and started running my fingers through her hair, so instead I wrapped my arms around her waist a little awkwardly, attempting not to get her clothes any bloodier than they already were. I was still too consciously aware of the sticky red staining my fingers. "Why wouldn't he?" I settled on, unable to think of a reason why someone wouldn't want to see Maria.

"Plenty of reasons." I heard her say.

I shook my head at that, closing my eyes. "No. Hizashi- he said you guys were all good friends, right? You're a wonderful person; there's… there's no reason why he wouldn't want to see you. You're amazing."

She's been so excited at the idea of meeting this person again after so long and having her one chance to surprise him crushed… It must be incredibly painful. She and Hizashi had spent so much time planning the reveal, but then that Villain had to show up and ruin everything for her. Maria's never had an easy life and seeing her in so much pain hurt…

I hated it when she was upset.

She deserved better than this.

"You guys can still surprise him." I finished, fully aware at how lame an end that was for my speech. "I-It can still work."

Maria pulled away, looking completely unconvinced, a multitude of emotions flashing through her eyes. I stared at her anxiously, scared of her reaction, when suddenly the hand on my head ruffled my hair. "You're cute, short-stop; I like you. Yeah… thanks. I'm sure we'll come up with something."

With that she stood and stretched loudly, arms raised above her head.

"Man, if it weren't for your Quirk I'd be exhausted right now. Your healing is perfection!"

An awkward smile twitched at my lips, somewhat embarrassed by her words. "I-I, uh, I wouldn't go that far… Thanks, though." She stared down at me, frowning, before giving a small shrug. "Um, do you want me to make you some tea? I-I need to wash my hands first, but-"

"It's fine. I need to shower. Seriously- thanks for the heal."

My grin became slightly more confident then, a shaky thumbs up being held in the air. It was difficult not to look at the blood. "Of course! I'll never not heal you." Maria chuckled at that. She had just started to walk in the direction of the bathroom when a sudden meow caught our attention.

Turning our heads, we saw a familiar tortoiseshell cat stroll her way into the livingroom- rubbing up against her chosen one's legs.

However, because of the blood that was about to get on her fur, Maria quickly stepped back. Ichigo stared up at the human in confusion, as if unable to believe that she was refusing her affection. Maria looked mildly pained. "I'll love on you after my shower, okay, baby? Otherwise you'll have to get a bath, too."

She stepped over the cat and began to make her way to the bathroom- pausing only to look at me. I stared at her, tilting my head in curiosity, but Maria shook her head once more and headed into the bathroom. I frowned, biting down on my bottom lip.

_That was weird… but okay. Um. Sink._

Focusing on the task at hand, my arms began to twitch again and I quickly shuffled over to the sink- eyes squeezed shut as I turned on the faucet with my elbow and washed the red off my hands. Even after dousing my skin with soap and sanitizer, the sickening feeling still remained. I stood there with my hands under the boiling water until I could hear the shower running, removing my hands from the steam and turning off the faucet.

Sliding down, my back against the sink cabinets, I stared at my red palms. A horrible realization came to me as I sat there and I wondered-

How am I supposed to become a Hero that healed the wounded… if I'm unable to keep myself from remembering? I can't even sleep without having nightmares of the incident; I've literally been keeping myself awake by drinking insane amounts of coffee and tea. My head hurt everyday and the energy I have is simply because of the nature of my healing Quirk. All Might's words from so long ago had been my inspiration.

He gave me hope.

But... I still lacked solace. Even though he asked me to I just couldn't bring myself to smile. It hurt too much.

Choking back the sob that was trying to build up, I blinked away the stinging in my eyes and stood. I- I needed to calm down. To relax. To distract myself. I needed to finish the costume design. Moving to the kitchen table, I sat down and picked up the colored pencils- continuing on my mission to complete the drawing whilst pretending I couldn't still feel that nasty sensation of liquid on my hands.

When I was finally satisfied with the outcome of the drawing I began to think about what else I should include. I doubted there'd be any way to slow me down, so there was no hope in asking for some kind of support item like that. It was hopeless.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the shower water had stopped. I also didn't notice the person sneaking up behind me, her long nail poking me lightly on the cheek. It was just barely brushing my skin, so believing it to be a stray hair I blew on it and began to tap my pencil against the table.

The feeling was still there. I made a face that time, shaking my head, but it wouldn't go away. Frustrated, I raised a hand to brush it away only jolt when I felt something that _wasn't _hair and whirled around to see Maria bursting out into laughter. "You're so easy to mess with~! Ahahaha!"

I pouted, making a face. "Rude."

She just grinned at me. Her eyes then glanced downward, peering over my shoulder and catching sight of my notebook. "Is that- is that your costume? Did you mimic my tailcoat? That's adorable~! Mm, not a whole lot of support items, though. You should at least have something to defend yourself with… ah, well, that's a matter for another day. Doubt you're going to be fighting any Villains first year."

A hand placed itself on my head, Maria leaning forward and using me as a body rest.

"Your anatomy is getting better." She noted. "Hands could still use work, though."

"Hands are the devil." I muttered in response, scrunching my nose up as I thought about the nightmare that was fingers. "They never want to come out right."

"True facts. Anyway, I'll be picking up your school uniforms tomorrow."

"Uniforms?" I didn't remember reading anything about a uniform. I looked at Maria in alarm, eyes wide. "A-Are they really that necessary?"

I really didn't want to wear a skirt. I felt uncomfortable in such revealing, drafty attire; it just didn't suit me. Dressing up was never something I did often and I just felt that dresses and such should be left for the more confident people and those who actually put effort into their appearance. My weight also fluctuated so much that my clothes never really fit properly. I could be weighing one forty at one moment and then one ten the next.

"It's just a gym and school uniform, kiddo." Maria pulled away, standing at full height. "Only reason I wore a uniform in Middle School was because it was a private girls school- and I wore pants under the skirt. Teachers were too scared to tell me "no". There's also the case of your Hero costume- but I wouldn't worry too much about that. If you're worried about the skirt we can buy you leggings or something?"

Embarrassed and ashamed at my own reluctance to wear something as simple as a skirt, so much so that it was to the point that she was suggesting that we buy a new article of clothing for comfortability, I looked down at the notebook on the table and mumbled a quiet, "I-It's okay. I'm sorry. Thanks, though..."

"Don't worry 'bout it."

With that Maria headed to the cabinets, getting out all that was necessary to make a new pitcher of tea. I sat in the chair, alone with my thoughts, and wondered just how horrible the first day of school was going to go. I had a bad feeling that I was going to attract attention because of my foreign background, but there's also the event from two years ago… and my connection to All Might.

Back home- in my school- people I never even _knew of _or_ spoke to_ came up to about it, recognizing my appearance and putting two-and-two together. All Might may be an Japanese Hero, but he was well known in America as well. Since he lived here- assuming, anyway, considering his agency is in this country, people might still recognize me. Regardless if it's been a few years.

It may only be by name due to me cutting off all my hair, but any extreme All Might fan would pay attention. I didn't want to deal with that anymore; I didn't want to deal with _people _anymore. I only wanted to heal. I didn't need to make friends or have conversations.

All that mattered was graduating.

I didn't need to deal with liars.

Picking my notebook up and standing, I informed Maria of where I would be and headed to my room, taking a picture of my costume and sending it to the support/design company for school. Then I climbed onto my bed, burrowing under the blankets against the many pillows and cradled the stuffed All Might doll to my chest.

The emptiness from before made itself known again, as if trying to point out the hypocrisy of my will.

I didn't need friends.

But deep down I did want them.

…

The next few days passed without many events. School was growing closer and closer, my anxiety kept getting worse and worse, and I was beginning to stock up on snacks to munch on for when the term actually started. The uniforms Maria picked up fit, but the sleeves were still so short that I would have to do something extra to cover my wrists and the back of my hands.

I didn't want to see the scars. Everytime I changed clothes I had to keep my eyes closed to avoid looking at myself; I got sick to the stomach just thinking about them. So, not knowing what else to do about it, I went back to the basics and covered myself up in ace wrap.

Unfortunately, the day to head out to the Academy finally came.

I ended up packing a ridiculous amount of prescribed vitamins and meds into my school bag before I got dressed. Maria had to help with the tie, and as she got to fixing it for me I reached over to the nightstand and picked up the many bags of jerky I had, stuffing them into my blazer pockets. My sister, having finished with her work, stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest.

She leaned against the wall and watched as I fumbled about to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything else, a fluffy red sweater wrapped around her slender frame. A peppermint candy in her mouth, a small smirk was curled up onto Maria's lips. Shoving one of my open bags of jerky in the pocket of my skirt, I picked up my school bag and nodded, ready.

That was, until, Maria pointed at the nightstand and stated, "Glasses."

Glasses. Backtracking, I picked up the blue-and-black framed item and stared at it for a moment. I felt weird with glasses on, but I did need them. I just have to remember to take them off during gym. Holding back a sigh, I put them on and followed Maria to the front door where we were putting on our shoes.

Before we opened the door to leave, Maria turned to face me. Her eyes were completely serious as she said, "One more thing; do not mention Time Bomb's real name to _anyone_. Her true identity is anonymous; so you can talk about her and tell people you've met her, but don't ever mention that _she _is actually _me. _Got it? Or that you two are related."

I nodded, pulling out a piece of jerky and munching on it as I lowered my head. "Yeah. Though I doubt I'll be talking to anyone…"

Maria paused in her action of opening the door. "You don't want to make friends?"

The hand holding I was using to carry my school bag tightened its grip on the handle, my heart rate increasing a few paces when Maria asked her question. I froze up, realizing at that moment about how I _really _needed to find a filter for my words. "I-I mean- I just-" My voice caught in my throat and my mouth suddenly felt dry. "Th-There's…"

Think. Say something. Head lifting up, my eyes reluctantly met Maria's.

"There's no point in it… right? I-I'm fine by myself."

She stared at me then- in such a way I had never seen her look before. Her features darkened and she stepped forward, moving until she was in front of me. I could feel one of my fangs start digging into my bottom lip, so much so that I was beginning to taste iron, and Maria raised a hand.

Though it was fine earlier and I didn't mind, the look in her eyes now bothered me. There was a darkness- one buried so deep it was near impossible to locate- and another emotion I wasn't quite sure belonged on her face. I closed my eyes, not knowing what to expect, and only opened them once I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"No one is ever "fine" alone." She stated, voice quiet. Her pale fingers dug into my shoulder, squeezing lightly. "You can't hide forever. Not in your room, not beside a trash can, and not in a corner. Find someone- one person, maybe two- whom you can talk to. Everyone needs a friend to understand."

But no one _does _understand- that's the issue here. All anyone ever wants to know is what happened down there: did I see All Might in action, did I see Time Bomb's real face, how many children were… deceased? No one ever thought about how _I _felt.

U.A is my chance for an escape. To start fresh; to make a life where I can help people. I want to heal those who get injured- so that they don't ever have to feel the same way about their scars as I do. I want to keep people alive.

None of that requires me to befriend anyone. Yet… Maria knows better than I do; she's been through a lot more than I have, right? I should listen to her.

_She's friends with Hizashi, Shōta, and Arik. She trusts them. She loves them._

But I… I can't. I'm too scared. I-I don't know how to trust anymore.

"...Okay…" I settled on, voice barely louder than a whisper. Maria squeezed my shoulder again, leaning down and planting a small kiss on my forehead, before offering her arm out to me as she opened the door. I accepted the gesture and followed her out, patiently waiting as she closed and locked the door, and we started to make our way to the Academy.

The walk to the school was highly uneventful. Maria, trying to scoot the uncomfortable atmosphere away, talked about her latest paintings and how most of her art was bought by people here in Japan. For her age Maria was already highly successful- the agent she had discovered her about three years ago, believing her art to be the work of someone much older.

Rather than doing one main style, she tended to switch from sceneries to traditional scrolls, to oil paintings and pastels, and even to digital work. Being eighteen years old, Maria on the verge of graduating Hero school, she was already of liable age to start selling paintings and even doing commissions for people overseas. Now she was twenty-one and acting as my guardian during our time here.

Unfortunately, the conversation had to end for we soon ended up approaching the gate to the very large building that was labelled as _U.A._

Maria unravelled her arm from mine and looked down at me with an apologetic smile. "I can't go any further without the gate closing shut, so you'll have to head on by yourself. Do you remember what you have to do?"

"...Go to the locker area, switch shoes and store some snacks, and then head to classroom 1-A?" My voice has a twinge of uncertainty as I spoke. Maria grinned, nodding proudly.

"Yup. You got it, short-stop. Now, remember; if anyone asks about your Quirk- it's _blink_. You move so fast that we don't _see _you move, so it's like you just "blink" out of our vision. Cameras can't catch you and neither can those with exceptional eyesight. So, instead of super speed… it just makes more sense to say you "blink"." She reached out and poked me in the forehead, pretending not to notice the way I flinched and leaned my head back. "That's why it takes such a toll on you; you're _literally _defying physics itself. Like how my quirk starts to break down and tear away at my muscle and bones, yours eats away at you so much that if you're not careful you can kill yourself with it."

"Okay… thank you."

"Of course. Now, get going; I'll be here to pick you up after school. I love you." Before she could walk away I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing my face into her shoulder. I wanted to head into the school, but another part of me still wasn't ready. "Hey…" I could feel her nails rake lightly up-and-down my back comfortingly. "You'll be okay. I promise."

I tried to believe her, so putting what faith I could in her words I pulled away. "Yeah." Looking up, I gave her a small smile. "I love you. See you after school?"

"You know it. I love you, too."

With that we parted ways, Maria heading home and I beginning to make my way through the gate. This was it; this was the beginning. Everything had led up to this moment; all the people who helped me, who pushed me, who _lied _to me…

I just had to keep calm. To move forward. To not look back.

Walking towards the building alone was stressful, having to weave my way through the crowd of students. I had to remember to stop before entering the building, kicking off my shoes, and then stepping inside. There was a lot of people, but it wasn't too difficult locating which locker was mine. Not wanting to be here longer than I needed to, I quickly slipped on a pair of white shoes and stuffed a bag of jerky in the locker.

Around me were some other students who looked around my age, but they were already chatting away with some people. An invisible student in a girl's uniform was speaking excitedly to a blond male that had a large tail sticking out of his rear end, while a really small- about three foot six- boy was trying to chat up this really busty girl with long black hair. She was completely ignoring him. To my disgust he appeared to be trying to peer up her skirt.

Praying that I didn't end up in the same class as the creepy little guy, I closed my locker and whirled around to walk off- only to nearly slam face-first into someone's chest. I barely caught myself in time, hands shooting up in the air defensively as I stumbled back. Looking up to see who I hit, I stammered out a loud and frantic apology. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't hurt you, did… I…?"

My voice trailed off. A single crystalline blue eye stared down at me, burnt and scarred skin surrounding the left side of his face. I've seen what different burns could look like; my eldest sister and my mother both had accidents when they were little and suffered for it. But, for the life of me, I could not think of what sort of accident would lead up to someone having the flesh on their face scalded off by such a heavy water burn.

The boy didn't say anything. He just stared at me for a brief second before continuing on his way, leaving in the direction I had been heading towards. My hands twitched and I curled my arms around myself, grip on my school bag tightening. Seeing his scar left a bad feeling in my stomach as I wondered how he received it, but it also reminded me of my own. The lines that trailed down from my elbows to the back of my hands, from my knees to my ankles. Even the one across my stomach.

Nasty, horrible markings made by one crazed woman _and _from my time in the hospital.

The voices all around me began to fade, hearing partially distorted as I found myself falling back into that place- the room full of darkness, covered with blood and the smell of death. I had to drag my feet forward, focusing on the memory of Maria's words in order to snap myself out of it. Walking in the direction where I thought the classrooms were, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky from one of the open bags.

Eat. Calm down. Breathe. Focus.

"Maybe I can just hide out in the nurse's office…" If things get too awkward or uncomfortable that would be a perfect escape plan. My physical condition was horrible anyway, so it's not like the teachers would ever stop me. I stopped in front of a pair of really tall double doors, a sign labelled 1-A beside it on the wall. "Here goes nothing."

Tearing apart another piece of jerky with my fangs nervously, I reached forward and opened the door.

Multiple people turned their heads to see who their next classmate would be and I froze up. My eyes darting around the room, I noticed that the majority of the seats were already taken. Was it by a seating chart or were we just allowed to sit where we wanted? My student seat number was supposed to be fourteen, so-

Ah. Someone's in that seat. Okay.

"Get outta my way, pointy ears!" I was given no time to react- an arm accompanied by an explosion from the open palm of a boy with spiky blond hair sent me stumbling to the side, crying out and falling to the floor. He then stormed out from the doorway, marching into the classroom and sending me a nasty side-eyed glare.

There were multiple gasps and a few people were whispering, but one student stood up from their seat and frowned at the blond. "How dare you attack a fellow student! This is far from the behavior someone accepted by U.A should have!"

I remained on the floor, watching with wide horrified eyes as the taller dark-haired student followed the blond to his seat. He continued to shout and scold, but the blond ignored him and plopped down at a desk near the far wall. Shakily pushing myself up onto my feet, I picked up my bag and waited for the trembling in my hands and legs to subside.

_This is worse. _I had my fair share of bullying the past from Middle School, but never had anyone outright attacked me with their Quirk. I had been expecting questions or interrogations if I was recognized, but not an ambush from someone I don't even know. _Th-This is supposed to be a Hero school, right?_

So why did he use his power so violently like that? I don't understand.

"Hey, you okay?" The voice came from the side. Shoulders stiffening, I turned to see who it was.

"Wh-What?"

A girl with short wine purple hair stood there beside me, her earlobes resembling that of earphone jacks. Her eyes were full of concern, eyebrows furrowed together with a frown set on her lips. She was very petite. "I asked if you were okay. That blast sent you falling."

"O-Oh…" This was weird. Overwhelmed by the situation, I could feel myself slowly starting to shut down. I looked from the girl to the row of desks, noticing that there was a free one beside a boy with spiky red hair. "I-I'm okay. Thanks. S-Sorry."

Even though my back was turned from her as I shuffled quickly over to the empty seat, I could feel her confused eyes on me. I could feel the eyes of many students on me as I sat down, and the redhead beside me even turned his head to look at me.

_Maria said everything would be fine. She said nothing would happen._

The world just loves to prove people wrong.

Building up as much confidence as I could, I slid my schoolbag off my lap and set it on the ground beside my feet. I then proceeded to rest my hands on the top of my desk, fingers laced together and my thumb rubbing anxiously across my knuckles.

The teacher still hasn't arrived yet. So many people in one class, too… I guess I wasn't as prepared as I had thought I was. I could hear the dark haired student still arguing with the blond, and the invisible girl from before was chatting with the guy with a tail again. Stealing a glance one more time around the room I couldn't help the dread that formed when I saw that not only was the guy I had bumped into earlier was in this class, but so was the creepy little boy from earlier… and he was staring directly at me.

A shiver went down my spine and I quickly turned away, highly disturbed.

I almost questioned why I wanted to go to this school so bad. It was bad enough I was an oddball in a class full of people with offensive and defensive Quirks; I just had to be the foreigner who got blasted in the face on the first day, too.

"Hey, you're American, right?"

I jolted, sitting up straight and snapping my head up when a finger tapped on my shoulder. Instinctively leaning back, I whirled around to see who was speaking to me. Red eyes, far different from the crimson that had been glaring down at me earlier, were full of excitement. "H-Hah?"

The stranger gave a sharp toothy grin, pointing a thumb at himself. "I'm Kirishima Eijirou. What's your name?"

He… He doesn't know? He has no idea who I am? My heart felt like it was going to give out from relief. If he had no idea who I was he wouldn't end up asking any questions. However, there was still the factor that he might recognize my name and figure it out.

"I-I.."

It's fine. I can tell him. There's no need to panic. If he doesn't recognize my face then he most likely won't recognize my name.

"Th-Thorn… Thorn… Irene?" Oh _gods_ that was awful. Why am I allowed to speak? Actually, I'm not even supposed to be speaking; I told myself that I wasn't going to talk to anyone. Before the incident no one had ever went out of their way to speak to me, so it never crossed my mind that there could be someone here in Japan that would. I just have to make sure that there's a big enough gap between me and other people.

He raised an eyebrow at my horrible introduction, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he scrunched his face up and asked, "Thorn…? Is that a common surname?"

Does that mean he recognizes it? I opened my mouth to respond, to say that I wasn't really sure, but the intense stare boring into the back of my skull was really starting to bug me. It was still coming from the little guy a few seats away; he's been doing it since I walked in the stupid classroom! I wasn't exactly sure what was going through the short kid's mind, but he definitely freaked me out.

I glanced behind me ready to ask the person to stop only to falter. I had seen the boy with the scar earlier so I knew he was in this class, but the creeper wasn't sitting near him then. The boy was sitting at his desk with an elbow propped up, his knuckles pressed against his cheek, his heterochromic eyes looking around the room in boredom. He looked ready to fall asleep.

Grey and blue, white and red. The colors contrasted against each other in their half-and-half state. He looked… strangely familiar, actually, but I couldn't quite place why. I think I would have remembered seeing anyone who looked remotely like him; not only was he unique, but he was also very pretty.

Suddenly scared by the thought of being caught staring, I turned my head away and looked back at Kirishima. "Um, I… I'm not sure. S-Sorry."

Kirishima stared at me for a long moment, clearly trying to figure out _where _he had heard my name from, before he shrugged and offered another toothy smile. "Eh, whatever. It's fine. But seeing as you're new to Japan and all that, if you ever have any trouble reading or something let me know! I'll help you out."

I stared at him blankly. Why was he saying all this? _No one is this friendly; what does he want? _Dad always said to be wary of guys, but I found people in general more of an issue. I awkwardly thanked Kirishima, but doubted I would ever actually ask him for anything. No matter how friendly or nice he appeared I wasn't going to trust him.

Leaning down I buried my face in my arms, trying to tune out the sounds of the classroom and the argument from the angry blond and dark haired glasses man. Apparently he had his feet on the desk and it was disrespectful? I mean, I get that it's gross… but I do the same thing sometimes.

_Why am I trying to justify the behavior of a jerk who attacked me? Stop._

I groaned, pulling an arm out from underneath my face and reaching into my blazer pocket, pulling out a piece of jerky. I shifted and rested my chin on the back of my forearm, munching on the snack.

_Hm. Teriyaki. The other pocket must be the honey barbeque, then._

A small tapping on my desk caught my attention. Kirishima frowned at me, confused. "We're not allowed to eat in class." He stated quietly, whispering. "What are you doing? Do you want to get into trouble on the first day?"

I looked at him from the corner of my eye, munching on the beef, before swallowing and sitting up. "I have permission. It's… It's for one of my Quirks; I need to keep eating." The more I eat the better, especially since I ran the other day.

It was clear that he wanted to ask _why _I had permission to eat in the middle of class, but I really didn't want to explain. Heck, I didn't even understand why he was talking to me in the first place. Was it because I was a foreigner? I doubted he actually wanted to be friends; I wasn't likeable. I annoyed people.

A thought seemed to occur to him. "Wait- _one _of your Quirks? How many do you have?"

I hesitantly opened my mouth to tell him that it was only two, but I was cut off by multiple students screaming. Not knowing what was happening, I stood up and slammed my hands onto the desk, anxiety spiking higher as the worst case scenarios ran through my head. When I saw what was actually going on, however, it turned out it was just our homeroom teacher climbing out of a yellow sleeping bag.

"My name is Aizawa Shōta. Nice to meet you." I blinked, eyes widening upon hearing his name. His bloodshot eyes were colored with exhaustion, dark messy hair falling into his face. "It's a little sudden, but put on your gym uniforms and head out onto the field."

Reaching into the sleeping bag, he pulled out a random uniform and showed it to us. A small yawn escaped his lips and he stared at us with a tired expression. The first student to move was the dark haired boy with glasses, the same one that had been arguing with the explosive blond, and then gradually everyone else began to move as well.

With great reluctance I followed the rest of the class, staying near the wall as we all made our way to the locker rooms. Once we got there I hid in a stall, changing with my eyes closed, and made sure the ace wrap was still covering all the way down to the palms of my hands. My fingers and thumbs were still able to move.

_Okay._

I inhaled deeply and let out a breath. Poking my head out of the stall, I waited until I saw the other girls leaving before making my exit.

I left my glasses with my school uniform in case I needed to run. Hiding in the back of the crowd, I thought about the teacher and the possibility he was the friend Maria and Hizashi had been talking about. The chances of it happening were so _slim_\- but Hizashi did say something about the guy being a teacher.

But… he seemed so distant. He can't be the friend, can he? Maria was so fiery, so outgoing. Sure, she had her own anxiety and could be really sweet when she wanted to be… but I can't see those two being close. I curled my hands against my chest, biting down on my bottom lip.

_What if he __is __the friend? What then?_

I need to avoid saying anything about her if that's the case. She's already so upset about the last plan; I don't want to ruin anything else for her.

"Any idea what we're doing?" A familiar voice asked curiously. A small shriek escaped my lips and I jumped, stumbling sideways with a hand planted over my mouth to quiet myself. Kirishima blinked. "A… Are you okay? Sorry for scaring you. You're really skittish, huh?"

I made a face, shoulders tensed up with my arms folded over my chest. "...M-Maybe. " Why is he even over here? I don't recall making a very good conversation partner. Has he not spoken to anyone else yet?

Kirishima stared at me for a moment. The he shrugged and started to hum to himself as he watched the rest of the class make their way over to the crowd.

As pointless as it was, I really hoped we didn't have to do anything strenuous today. I liked being mostly healthy.

…

Standing in the guestroom that Maria had turned into an art studio, she tapped her foot along to the music that was playing in the background. She focused on fixing her canvas and their stands, making sure none would fall over, and promptly covered the paintings that had been finished and dried with a white cloth. Hips swaying to the beat, she quietly sang along as she got the paints she needed to finish her next commission.

As she squirted out the colors onto a plate, grabbing her paintbrush and getting to work, she found her mind wandering. A face flashed into her mind- young and pale, with messy black hair and tired eyes. It was the appearance of the man that she hadn't seen in over ten years.

_Aizawa Shōta._

It was a little odd about the way that they became friends; it was Middle School year and most people didn't really like her all that much.

Dealing with a lot of hatred and mixed emotions due to all the horrible things happening around her: her parents divorce, a multitude of her friends being killed by Villains and/or dying of their own volition, Maria was torn up inside. She was rage-filled and scared and wanted nothing to do with _anyone_. So when a bunch of High School students from Japan came to America for a short visit she all but avoided them.

This is what led to her being cornered by a couple of other students- ones from her all-girls school- near the back of the school where they were bullying her. Tall and thin, with barely any figure at all compared to the other girls who were already becoming well-developed. One of the girls- the leader of the group- with indigo hair and matching blue eyes, stood over and moved her hands about to pull at the moisture in the air in order to form a giant water bubble.

Round and clear, the liquid ready to hit Maria the moment the blue-haired girl was ready.

"Honestly, why do you even _go _to this school?" She demanded, eyes narrowed. "No one wants you _or _your older sister here. Why don't you just do everyone a favor and kill yourself?"

"Wouldn't _that _make you feel better?" Maria snapped, lips curling back as she bared her fangs at them. Maria took a step back, fingers flexing as she thought about using her quirk against them. She had a lot of kinetic energy stored up- if she let it out in a big blow it should knock them out. "Go to hell, Felicia."

"You _wish_. Sara, Jade- come on. Someone _clearly _doesn't know how to get a clue."

With that the other two girls activated their quirks. The blond- Jade- had her hair extend out and act as creepy tendrils that floated in the air and the other- a brunette named Sara - hit her fists together and her skin turned brown as dirt gathered from the ground- hardening and turning into solid earth. But then, just as they were about to attack, Jade's hair went slack, Sara's earthen arm's crumbled until her original flesh remained, and the bubble that had been floating above Felicia's head burst; splashing the indigo-haired girl and soaking her. Several clouds appeared, blocking their vision, leaving the girls that were bullying her completely blinded.

Maria blinked, startled, wondering what had just happened, and quickly turned her head when she heard a loud voice screaming. It pounded against her eardrums and before she knew it Maria _and _her attackers were all doubled over, hands over their ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

"_YEAAAAAAAAH~!"_

"Yamada… you're hurting the victim, too."

The voice quieted instantly, stammering out a very loud apology. The girls who had been bullying Maria quickly dashed off, terrified of whatever sound the person had done and why their quirks had been erased. The tall auburn-haired girl cautiously removed her hands as she looked up to see three people dashing over to her.

Three unfamiliar and _attractive _people. They were fairly tall- maybe an inch or two taller than her- but the they looked like total opposites. One was blond with his hair slicked back and sticking up, a pair of bright orange sunglasses hiding his eyes, and the other had long, messy jet black hair and equally dark eyes. The third was rather tan with blue eyes and cloud-like hair that waved in the air, colored a light blue. He sported a aviator's jacket and white t-shirt, as well as several bandages. Quite intelligent, she easily put two-and-two together.

"...Why?" She demanded, standing up and brushing dirt off her uniform skirt. The blond came rushing forward, a hand outstretched in greeting.

"HEY~! Miss Pretty Lady~! They didn't hurt you, right?" A hand grabbed him by the back of his jacket collar, stopping him before he could get to close. "Ne, Shōta! What you doing that for!?" His english was a little choppy, his accent heavy, but she was still able to pick out what he was saying. "Heroes protect innocents! What about you, Shirakumo!?"

The blue-eyed boy laced his hands behind his head, chuckling loudly as he stepped to the side. "I'm not getting in the middle of this! Haha!"

The dark-haired teenager just sighed, blood-shot eyes full of exhaustion. "Yamada…"

"Hizashi!" The blond corrected. "Call me that, yeah?"

He ignored him, continuing, "She looks uncomfortable."

"Eh!?"

The blond turned to look at her. To his surprise she was in a defensive stance, ready to fend for herself if they tried anything. The blond slumped his shoulders, pouting, and the dark-haired boy released him. The blue-haired boy watched curiously, clearly resisting the urge to bombard her with question. "W-Why were those girls bullying you? You seem nice. Yeah?"

"Do you wanna have us report 'em?" Shirakumo asked, grinning ear-to-ear. He walked over, slinging an arm over the blond's shoulder. Was his name Hizashi or Yamada? She couldn't figure out which was his first name or which was his last. "Ah, but don't tell our teachers we used our quirks, okay!?"

"Th-That's…" Maria didn't finish, mildly flustered by the situation and confused as to why someone helped her. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away with a scowl. "It's none of your business. I didn't need you two to butt in; I was fully prepared to defend myself. I'm not weak, you know."

"We never said _that!_" The blond exclaimed, almost offended that she was accusing them of such a thing. "We were just passing by and saw that girl try drop water on your head!"

"Try _to _drop water, Yamada…" The dark-haired boy muttered, correcting his friend's English. The blond glanced back at him and then at the woman, hands hanging uselessly in the air as he tried to figure out how to remedy the situation. "Sorry for making you mad. But from our position it looked as though you needed help."

"Sorry~!"

The blond beside them nodded his head fervently. "Yeah, yeah! We're training to be heroes, see!? We weren't just gonna let them get away with hurting you! I mean, you probably could defend yourself- but we didn't know that! S-So… that isn't to say you're weak! We just thought we could help! Shōta can erase quirks, after all! It's really cool! Shirakumo made the clouds! They're actually a really great team, you know!? Even if one of us screws up, the others will always pick up the slack!"

Maria's eye twitched as the blond proceeded to go into a rant, rambling about their quirks, before she settled her gaze onto the boy beside him. He looked tired and like he wanted to be anywhere but there. His bangs fell into his face, long and stopping beneath his shoulders. She was never around boys much since she goes to an all-girls middle school, but he was _very _pretty. A little… messy, maybe, but that probably added to the charm.

His personality was also much calmer and laid-back, and when he spoke it was logical. Logic- something Maria understood and preferred to use on most days. Science was her forte, after all, and- if these three were a perfect example- opposites really _do _attract. Shirakumo had joined with with the blond, chatting excitedly about their goals to become heroes and how they were going to start their own agency together.

"So… what?" The girl began cautiously, hazel green eyes narrowing at them. "You guys transfer students or something? 'Cause if so then you got the wrong place; this is a girls' school."

"Eh?" Yamada Hizashi, she learned, choked, looking around nervously with his face flushing a little pink upon the realization. The dark-haired boy, Aizawa Shōta, just blinked as if he were unaffected. He looked up, mouth parting just slightly as if surprised, before shrugging and letting out a small yawn. "S-S-S-Sorry!"

Shirakumo slung his other arm around Aizawa, to the boy's obvious annoyance, and pulled him and Yamada closer. "Don't think you need to go that far, buddy! She- uh, Hizashi…?"

Maria almost jumped back when the blond started bowing rapidly, Yamada accidentally slipping back into his natural tongue as he apologized. It took the boy on the other side of Shirakumo to get him to stop- a pale hand grabbing onto Yamada's leather jacket and pulling him back up into a standing position.

"Stop."

"E-Eh!? A-Ah… s-sorry."

Maria heaved a heavy sigh, feeling a migraine forming just from the conversation alone. The blond was reminding her so much of the little sister she left behind and it was _really _giving her a headache. "Quit apologizing… geez." She muttered as she started to rub her temple with one hand.

"S-Sorry-"

That was it.

At that, Maria snapped. Before she knew it, she was in front of him, pointing at him with furious eyes; hazel orbs bright and angry. "Stop it! No more apologizing for apologizing! Not even the _word _"sorry" can enter your mind! I will _end _you. Do you hear me? Gods, do I have to stuff your face to get you to shut up?"

"H-_Hah?_"

Ruffling her hair in frustration, Maria stepped back and grumbled to herself. "Fine. Fuck it. Ice cream. That's what we're doing. You three- follow me. But this is the _only _time I'm paying so you better suck it up and deal with it; there's a nice cafe nearby that has some really good ice cream. There's also cats. It's a cat cafe." She paused glance down then back up at them cautiously, "You're not allergic, are you?"

At that there was silence. The young girl stared at the older teens, wondering why they were staring at her in such a way. The dark-haired boy's eyes were intense; boring into her skull as if she had just asked him to make a deal with the devil. Then, with a quiet voice, feeling Shirakumo's hand on the top of his head, he muttered, "Show us the cafe."

"I wanna see all the kitties!" The blue-haired boy declared, excited. "Ah- you guys might have to hold me back from taking them all back to Japan with me, though…"

The blond just laughed nervously, scratching the side of his face. "Ahaha… my friends really love cats. They're, like, their most favorite things out of the whole word."

"World." The dark-haired boy muttered. "Out of the whole _world_."

"Yeah! That."

Maria just raised an eyebrow in response and shook her head, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Whatever. I like cats, too; now come on. The cafe is this way."

"Yaaaay!" Shirakumo cheered, laughing. "Third day here and we already got a date! With cats! A cat date! Wait. Is that a thing? How do you English that?"

Maria was this close to hitting them- more specifically, Yamada and Shirakumo. "Not. A. Date."

That was their first encounter. Afterwards, a few days later, they had- by some miracle- managed to encounter each other again. Due to Yamada's influence and his strange fascination with the girl after she had- rather forcibly- bought them ice cream, they swapped emails. Maria even agreed to share her phone number with them after some awkward conversation and hefty persuasion.

She wasn't that good with people and the ones she _did _know had already left. It was suffocating, remembering everything and the time they had spent together, and it was like something was putting pressure on her chest. Reaching inside and crushing her heart, ripping apart everything she had to offer.

And she was alone.

Everyone at school hated her, though the feeling was quite mutual, and her family was rather messed up in its own right. She was furious with her parents for their divorce and she was furious with her siblings, and it _enraged _her how her youngest sibling knew _nothing _about _anything _and still tried to talk to her. What does _she _know about loss? What does _she _know of what it was like when their parents were still together?

_Nothing. _Nothing at all.

But you know what? That was fine; Maria didn't need them. She would be moving in with one of her closest female friends once she hit High School and that would be it. Maybe she could even go to another country once she graduated? She'll figure it out; she was smart. Very smart.

And though she wasn't really keen on making any new friends… the unfamiliar sensation of warmth in her chest when Yamada, Shirakumo, and Aizawa came to her help was overwhelming. She didn't like help, she didn't really want it either, but she couldn't deny that it was _nice _when someone had her back. That she was grateful whenever someone tried to stand up for her.

Unfortunately, Maria was _way _too proud to say a simple "thank you" so she had to go another route. Because of this, they ended up meeting at the cafe whenever the boys had time and were free to wander.

And then one day, later on in the week, Maria was leaning against the brick wall of the cafe waiting impatiently for her new… _friends… _to show up.

Are they friends? She wasn't quite sure.

They had swapped emails and hung out quite often, so they _had _to be more than just simple acquaintances. Maria wasn't very keen on getting close to anyone else after having lost so many people so recently, but then they helped and she had to thank them and… they just sort of "clicked"?

_I wonder what Aizawa's favorite cat is?_

She noticed he always got the smallest of smiles on his face when he got to pet one and his expression only grew softer when all the other felines went over to be loved on by him. It was sort of adorable, really. Uncertain as to _why _she thought that she scowled a little when she realized how bad she really wanted to see him again.

Logical. Quiet. Reserved. Patient.

And, though it was hard to tell sometimes, he was a little sweet. His bluntness was the thing she appreciated most about him. She was sick of so many people trying to sugar-coat things that it was a relief that there was someone who was unafraid to tell it like it is. He didn't seem to like admitting he cared about cats- at least not without persuasion from Shirakumo. He seemed to be his main source of encouragement, with Yamada following right behind. She can only fathom that they must have found him, decided he himself was a stray, and picked him up as their new companion when the trio first met.

"Hey, hey, hey~! Pretty lady~!" The loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she instantly sprang into a proper standing position. Her hazel eyes went wide with barely-contained excitement upon seeing the three boys. Maria's eyebrow twitched a little at the nickname Yamada had taken to calling her, but she chose to ignore it and raised a hand awkwardly in greeting. Her face flushed a little when she saw the dark-haired boy beside him. "How was your morning!?"

The light turned red and they started to walk across the street. Maria stepped closer to the end of the sidewalk, waiting for them to hurry up and get over. She was practically rocking on her heels. Aizawa let out a big yawn, hair dropping into his face as his tired gaze met hers. Then, with the screeching of tires, his head turned to the direction of the sound and his dark eyes widened.

"-uwah!?" Yamada and Oboro both let out small yelps when their friend suddenly grabbed them, pushing the two boys out of the street; their eyes barely able to glimpse the runaway SUV as it surged towards them. As the two stumbled and fell back onto the pavement, there was a blur of black and red; feet pounding against the black top and all the boys could do was watch as everything happened in slow motion, glasses fallen and broken on the ground.

Black-sleeved arms were raised protectively over his face, their classmate prepared to take whatever fate would fall upon him. But then she was there; Maria moved before she could think, the only thoughts in her mind being that of the news reports and the funerals she had attended. It wasn't something she could control - she saw the vehicle and then there was _fear_. Pure unadulterated _fear_ that she would lose three more people.

People who stood up for her. People she liked. People she considered _friends_.

Kinetic energy flowing through her whole body built up as she ran, energy that Maria had let fester inside and never continually used. Building like a raging fire waiting to be unleashed on the world. To burn. To protect.

She stopped abruptly. Taking a firm stance she raised her arms, barely able to hear the screams of the boys who had been pushed onto the ground and unable to see the horrified expression of the dark-haired boy behind her. She let the vehicle get close - only a few feet away despite its alarming speed - before she let out the strongest blast she could manage, compressing and releasing all the kinetic energy she had in one massive, powerful explosion.

As the energy released, the SUV surged forward on its front axis- the back tires lifting from the ground and its metal denting, molding into a crude version of her handprints. She stared, hazel eyes wide and determined, the world around her slowing down to a crawl as she watched small rocks of debris float up around her as slow as a falling leaf, her hair whipping about her face as she watched the ripple of violent red energy surge across the vehicle.

The front of the truck continued to compress in on itself before imploding, the force of the energy too much and too focused for the thin metal - the blast sending the SUV rearing back a few feet. It was then there was a bloodcurdling scream - one she soon registered was her own as all the muscles in her arms tore apart, her shoulders dislocating themselves and the bones in her hands shattering from such an overuse of her Quirk.

Spots danced in her vision and all she saw was a searing hot _white _as the world around her faded in-and-out, only a ringing white noise blaring in her ears due to the immense pain she felt. She stumbled back, feeling a pair of strong arms catch her before she could fall, but she wasn't able to process anything.

There was a face- a blurred face- and a muffled voice amidst the ringing filled with panic…

...and then everything went black.

When Maria awoke she was in the hospital. Her arms were in huge casts and multiple wires were hooked up to her. Through her hazy vision she could make out a nurse and a beeping machine, but she wasn't conscious very long. When she awoke again there was something clinging tightly to the sheets of her blanket, making sniffling sounds as it choked back a sob.

"P-Please… _please_…"

Maria didn't want to open her eyes. She recognized the voice, but she didn't particularly like it. Fingers twitching a little she noticed that there was no pain. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened, even in her groggy state.

"I'm sorry… _I'm so sorry_… please… _w-wake up_."

It was then there was the sound of a door opening. The girl that had been clinging tightly to Maria's bedsheets stiffened and the little kid quickly hid her face from view, allowing her long hair to fall and hide her expression. "Any change?" A new voice spoke, male and much older than either of them. She knew at once that it was their father. "Damn it…"

Hearing the footsteps leave, Maria peaked through her eyelids to see them walk out of the room, their father's hand resting lightly on little Irene's back to guide her out of the room. With a heavy sigh, Maria waited a few seconds before sitting up, unsurprised that there was no pain at all.

What _did _surprise her, though, was the fact that Irene had even bothered healing her at all. Maria gave the girl no reason at all for her to be nice to her and yet… she still went and did that. It didn't make sense.

As she observed her fingers, trying to find the slightest bit of evidence that the incident did happen, a pair of boys entered the room. "Eyyy~! Maria~! Pretty lady~! You're AWAKE!"

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty! It's about time you woke up!"

"And you're unharmed." Aizawa pointed out tiredly, little emotion in his voice. Maria let out a snort at his words, only to quickly clamp a hand over her mouth in surprise. "How come? Injuries don't heal that fast. Recovery Girl isn't in America and there aren't many with her level of power here in this hospital."

Maria, not wanting to go into detail, leaned back down into the bed and pulled the sheets over her. Cold, which was mostly due to her anemia, she huddled underneath the blankets and stared up at the ceiling with dull eyes. "You really want to know?"

"YEAH~~!" Yamada shouted, stepping closer to the bed and placing his hands on his hips exaggeratedly, leaning over. "You had us worried sick! I mean, that was _amazing _what you did- your Quirk is totally Hero material! But that doesn't make it okay to just jump in front of the speeding car! The person driving it was, uh…?"

"Intoxicated."

"Yeah! Yeah! That! What he said! Your wounds would take months to heal!"

"What was it? Some kind of special medicine?" Shirakumo asked, plopping down on the bed she was laying on and ignoring the glare she sent. "Or are you one of those hybrids with two Quirks? Can you regenerate? If so, that's awesome! If you decided to go on a Hero path, you could totally join our agency once we make it!"

Maria closed her eyes at the rambling. She was relieved to know that the three boys weren't hurt, but… she didn't want to talk about her family. It almost hurt to say the word, to speak the truth she did not understand, but forced herself to state.

"Irene."

She gave no other context, simply uttering the name, but it left the three boys greatly confused.

That was fine though. Maria could live with that.

It wasn't something she wanted to share, anyway.

Snapping out of her reminiscing of the past, of how she met the two men back when they were all students and the path that would eventually set her onto being a Hero, Maria dipped her paintbrush in the water and cleaned the brush as best as she could. She did her best to forget about the one friend she would never see again, but then a new song started playing, one by _Linkin Park _titled _Leave Out All The Rest._

It almost made her choke upon hearing the first lyric. Her phone was on _Pandora _rather than _Youtube _or _Soundcloud_, so the songs that played were mostly random. Maria tried not to freak out too much and started to sing, painting along.


	4. Momentary Decisions

_"I don't know what's worth fighting for or why I have to scream. I don't know why I instigate or say what I don't mean!"_

Aizawa looked on in irritation at the students who didn't understand what he was talking about. And, if we're being honest, that was the majority of the class. According to a short girl with auburn hair there was supposed to be a school orientation ceremony… but this teacher was going against any and all traditions.

"If you're going to become a Hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." He scolded, sounded as bored as he looked. "U.A's main selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's the same for the teachers that run the classes."

If that was the case then that meant nothing would be going according to _anything _that I had heard of. I was under the impression that we would be having normal classes, but just… Hero-based? If that made any sense. The longer this day goes on the more confused I get. I looked up at the redhead beside me to see if he understood what exactly was going on, but he appeared just as confused as everyone else.

Turning around completely to face us, Aizawa held up a small gadget that showed the previous skill ratings of all of us students. "You guys have been doing this since middle school, right? Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks. This is going against that."

I thought back to the memory of all the fitness tests I had to do and cringed. The gym teacher would always yell at me for using my speed quirk, blatantly ignoring any and all explanations I tried to give her about how I was unable to control it. Even when my parents were called in to inform the teacher about the nature of the quirk she would still accuse me of being "lazy" and "rebellious".

I'm pretty sure she got fired when I hit sixth grade.

Zoning back into the teacher's speech, I tried to make sense of what he was saying.

"-averages taken from results of students having not used their Quirks; it's not rational… what with the way the world is becoming, the Ministry of Education is procrastinating." His dark eyes focused on the angry blond student from earlier, narrowing his eyes at him. "Bakugou, you finished first at the top of the practical exam, right?"

Practical exam? As in the exam everyone else had to take to get in to the school or the practical exam as in a fitness exam? I'm lost. I stared at the angry blond, observing his suspicious reaction towards being called out.

"In middle school what was your best result for the softball throw?"

"Sixty-seven meters." He responded, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "What of it?"

Hearing the the challenge in his voice, Aizawa pulled out a ball from his pocket and tossed it towards him. Bakugou caught it with ease, an eyebrow raising high on his forehead. "Try doing it with your quirk."

The blond's red eyes widened, staring at the teacher in surprise, before he nodded and headed in the direction to where the ball throwing circle was at. Stepping in the middle of the large circle, he looked at Aizawa with a frown, waiting for further instructions.

"You can do whatever you want so long as you stay in the circle. So hurry up and give it all you've got. We don't have all day."

A thoughtful look crossed Bakugou's face at those words, the blond stretching his arms out and muttering to himself before he threw the ball. A big explosive blast shot out of the palm of his hand and sent the object flying. "_DIE~!_"

This guy had already been put on my "avoid at all costs" list, but this was just making me scared to go anywhere _near _him. I shifted, taking a step back closer to the building and pondering what the heck this guy was doing at a school for Heroes. He had not only attacked me, but had also been picking that fight earlier with the tall kid.

And now he was screaming "die" during a test? It didn't make sense. From beside me Kirishima gaped at the blond, stunned by the sheer amount of _raw _power he had. I prayed that if we ever got assigned seats that I wouldn't have to be anywhere close to the blond.

"You need to know your own limits first." Aizawa told everyone, eyes half-closed as he turned to face us again. "_That _is the most rational way to form the foundation of a Hero."

He held up the device in his hand, allowing us to see what Bakugou had scored. To everyone's shock and amazement, he had thrown the ball up to seven hundred and five point two meters. People began to talk, excited for the tests now that they saw the potentials that their quirks could let them do.

"Oh, _man_," Kirishima exclaimed, grinning widely, "this is gonna be fun!"

I looked up at him and then down at the ground, eyebrows knitting together as the cogs in my brain began to turn. I didn't want to use my speed quirk unless I absolutely needed to. My main role was to heal, anyway, so was there any actual point in doing the tests? I suppose I could just ask and see if I could sit out. The teacher should have read my files.

"Fun?" Aizawa echoed, narrowing his eyes and staring down at us with a dark expression. His words deflated everyone's excitement, belief of the tests being amusing getting washed away. "You have three _years _to become a hero… are you going to have an attitude like that the whole time?

Silence spreading throughout the group like a poison, the teacher grew a sadistic smile on his scruffy face.

"Alright… whoever comes in last place in _all _eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion."

Though I had once faced death and met the reaper directly, my heart nearly stopped just as how it did then upon hearing the teacher's words. Maria and I- we came to Japan at the suggestion of the greatest Hero of all time so that I could enroll into this school. We left everything behind so I could get in and become a world-renowned healer. She… sacrificed everything for my future as a Hero. All Might had _recommended _me.

The freaking Symbol of Peace had wrote a freaking letter to the school telling them about my Quirks so I could get in.

Not to mention the fact that my sister and I spent so long learning the language, and if I get expelled now… it would all go to waste. Everything would be pointless. Our efforts, the days spent working, practicing, and preparing for this. All of it would be worthless…

And Maria would hate me again.

The world around me went cold at that thought. It was as if I had been transported back to that night- the time when she had left to move in with Clair. No one even told me what had happened until it was already done and over with. I got back from school and then… they were just gone. Maria had never wanted anything to do with me and then the incident happened.

We were reunited and we started talking, a-and… I believed we became close.

She probably wouldn't really hate me for this, b-but… I don't want to risk it. I'm too scared. What if I'm wrong and we separate again? I-I can't…

_I can't lose her!_

Choking back the sob that was building up, my hands lowered until they rested on my forearms, fingers digging into the sleeves. I felt sick, dizzy, and I couldn't really hear _what _the teacher was saying at this point. All there was at the moment was fear and the memory of hearing Time Bomb's voice for the first time in years.

I shook my head frantically, back pressing against the wall behind me. Kirishima, being the only one paying attention, took notice and looked at me with wide eyes. He moved his attention away from Aizawa, stepping forward and outstretching a hand worriedly. "H-Hey, are you-"

"I'm _fine_." I bit out, thinking as many positive thoughts as I could to calm down. It wasn't even the memories of the incident that started the attack; it was my panic of losing Maria. "Just…" It was hard to speak, to think, but I forced myself to. "Just thinking."

Kirishima didn't look like he believed me, but it wasn't like he knew me well enough to be certain that I was lying. He couldn't call me out on it. Besides, I refused to talk about anything; it was my problem and mine alone. I didn't need help.

Letting out a heavy, silent breath I raised my head when I heard Aizawa start to speak again. I stared at him fearfully as he spoke, the aura the man letting off intense. It was cold and blatant and totally unafraid to destroy the dreams of those he taught. This man… wasn't pulling any punches. If he thought us useless he would get rid of us on the spot.

_I promised Maria I wouldn't use it. B-But if I don't…_

"We're free to do whatever we want about the circumstances of our students." Aizawa informed us, eyes wide and sadistic as he smiled, bringing a hand up and brushing his bangs back with his fingers. "Welcome to U.A's Hero course!"

_She might want nothing to do with me._

I can't fail. I-I can't. Even if it means if I fall into a coma… even if it means she'll be furious with me… I'll have to use my speed quirk.

I could hear a girl protesting, but I wasn't really paying much attention. I focused solely on Aizawa and on the tasks we would have to do, already pondering the best possible ways to finish whatever tests he'd throw at us without overdoing it too much. I couldn't wear myself out completely in the first test- whatever that may be- lest I get horrible results in the last few. I needed to pass.

"-selfish Villains. Calamities whose time and place can't be predicted. Japan is _covered _in unfairness and Heroes are the ones who reverse those situations. If you wanted to go talk to your friends at McDonald's after school- too bad. For the next three years, U.A will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. You need to go beyond. _Plus Ultra_. Overcome those tasks with everything you got. The real thing starts now."

I thought about the reason why I was here. I didn't particularly _want _to go to another country; I mainly wanted an escape from my old life. But… I did want to help people and I was told that this was the best way to do so. By overcoming the tasks thrown at me and the fear of my past, I can do that. I can be a true hero.

Like All Might and Time Bomb.

Unfortunately, despite all my silent prayers, the first test ended up being the one that would cost me the most. The fifty meter dash. I hated this test with a passion, but, thankfully, because of my last name I was one of the last people to go- which gave me plenty of time to plot out how exactly I was going to do this.

If I went all the way with my quirk I would lose a large amount of weight and would most likely have trouble standing afterwards. There was also a good chance I could end up unconscious. That would be no good… so I settled for the plan of stopping halfway through the lane and shuffling the rest of the way afterwards. I waited patiently for my turn, surprised to see that the bi-colored boy was only two names in front of me. He ran with another boy- whose head was that of a bird.

Rather, instead of actually _running _the boy more or less ice skated and the bird-faced guy had these shadowy arms come out of his back and move him to the finish line as quickly as possible.

As they finished, the bi-colored boy stopping at an impressive time, I started to head to the line with a boy I hadn't paid much notice to.

Looking at him in the gym uniform now, I was surprised to find that the bulge in his elbows was actually tape dispensers. "See you on the other side, foreigner!" He exclaimed, grinning confidently as if believing he would be able to beat me. "No idea what your quirk is, but I doubt it can beat mine."

I ignored him and his blatant challenge. Getting into a stance and tensing my legs, I braced myself for the inevitable. In the distance I could hear someone muttering to himself- a person who had already done the first test. I didn't bother to look, instead keeping my eye on the track. _I have to. Please don't be mad, Maria… I'm sorry._

The robot keeping score spoke, telling us to wait for our mark, and right when it was supposed to tell us to get ready to run a voice shouted my name. Out of reflex I stepped forward, ADHD getting the better of me, but the world that should have slowed down vanished and I ended up running at a normal pace.

I faltered, coming to a startled stop, and was about to try running again out of sheer curiosity when a pair of metal alloy bandages shot out and wrapped around my arms. "W-Wha-! _Gah!_" I was tugged backwards, forcefully being pulled back to the starting line. The bandages around my arms released me and I fell, a small shriek escaping my lips as my back hit the dirt.

"Just _what _do you think you're doing?" A tired voice demanded, stern and irritated. "If you run you're dead."

Groaning a little as I picked myself up off the ground, I looked up to see whose shadow it was that was hovering over me. Recognizing the voice, it wasn't really that much of a surprise to see that it was Aizawa. What _was _surprising, however, was the fact that his eyes were glowing red and his black hair was slicked back and pointing towards the sky. The cloths that had grabbed me were the very ones he had wrapped around his shoulders.

"The reason you're here is because of your_ healing_ Quirk. If you end up out of commission, then how are you going to care for those who are in critical condition? Just because I dozed off for a second doesn't mean you can go and endanger yourself."

The eyes of the other students were on us. Intense, stunned, curious. All of them had questions and I really didn't wish to be the one to give them answers. The green-haired boy, the one who I was quickly realizing had a habit of muttering to himself, explained to everyone that the teacher was a professional hero by the name of "Eraserhead". He avoided social media, which was why barely anyone had heard of him, and he had the ability to erase Quirks with his eyesight.

Then the boy started wondering _what _made running so detrimental for me and began rambling about the different types of healing Quirks there were. Regeneration was uncommon, but healing in and of itself was rare.

The red fading from the teacher's eyes, the clothes floating in the air relaxed and wrapped back around his shoulders and neck. Frozen in place by what was happening, it was only when Aizawa snapped at me to get out of the track that I moved. "Stop stalling, Thorn. Get over here. Your job is to help the idiots who hurt themselves- _not _be part of the ones who need helping."

He turned around and stormed off, walking over to where he had been standing earlier. More than a little freaked out by what happened I quickly scrambled onto my feet and chased after him, scared of getting into anymore trouble. The person who had been meant to go after me quickly joined Sero and ran, everyone finishing the tests with either incredible results or mediocre ones.

The two that _did _stand out the most, I noticed, was the pretty boy with the scar and Bakugou.

I wasn't quite sure why, but watching them left a bad feeling in my stomach. I was certain something was going to happen, whether it be because of the angry blond or because Aizawa snapped at someone again. The entire time the rest of the tests went on I shifted awkwardly from foot-to-foot, fingers fidgeting as I waited for _something _to occur. When we got through a few more tests without much issue I began to calm down, deciding that my nerves were just on edge.

It didn't last long.

When it was time for the ball throwing test and half of the class had already went, the metal alloy cloth around Aizawa's shoulders snapped up and reached out to the next student-grabbing his arms and restraining him. His dark eyes were shimmering red, erasing whatever Quirk the green-haired boy had been about to use on the ball.

Aizawa looked _furious_. The boy stopped muttering to himself and turned to see what stopped him, his eyes growing wide with fear when saw just how angry the teacher was. "That entrance exam _definitely _was not rational enough… letting a kid like _you _into U.A."

"Wh-Why did you erase my quirk!?" The boy choked out, cowering underneath Aizawa's unimpressed gaze. At his question the adult's expression just darkened. His voice was a tired growl as he spoke,

"From what I can tell… you can't control it, can you? Do you intend to become incapacitated and have someone else save you?"

I took a step back from the teacher, unable to believe what I was hearing. His words were directed towards the boy, but the way it was phrased made it hit way too close to home. I had done everything in my power to heal the children, to distract the guards and get the children to escape. When the old woman had grabbed me- had threatened me- I just… panicked.

And then I was unable to move. All the energy and strength I had was gone, and I had been hit so hard that I threw up. I could barely even struggle when I was on that lab table.

If Time Bomb and All Might hadn't shown up when they did…

I would have ended up like that boy with the bright green eyes. They were the reason I was still alive today. Running would leave me incapacitated, but if I needed to get to someone in a hurry to heal them I would have no choice _but _to use it. There's no winning. It was the first time a speed Quirk had mutated like it had so neither the doctors nor the support companies knew what to do.

And to hear someone else might have a Quirk they can't control… it was unbelievable. Was it in the same case mine was? Or was it just that he could choose when it activates, but the extent of the power is too much for him to handle?

Regardless, recalling the lab and the old woman had left me feeling cold. The never-ending appetite I had faded, my hand drifting to my stomach as I remembered the pain of being hit. Not just once, but multiple times by the mutants in the vehicle- and then by the old woman when I had become frail from the use of my speed Quirk.

I took a few more steps back away from the teacher, stopping only when it felt like my legs were going to give out from how much they were shaking. I looked up, watching the scene take place in front of me with pained eyes.

"-not my intention!" The boy protested loudly, arguing against Aizawa's cruel words. He opened his mouth to continue, but was rudely cut off when the cloths around him doubled and completely bound him up, pulling him over to the teacher. The boy let out a terrified squeak, face-to-face with the man that now held his educational fate in his hands.

"Whatever your intention, I'm saying that that's what the people around you will be forced to _do._" He hissed, the red glow in his eyes a furious crimson. "In the past, there was an oppressively passionate Hero who saved over a thousand people by himself and created a legend. Even if you have the same reckless valor, you'll just turn into a useless doll after saving _one _person. With the power you have, Midoriya Izuku, you _can't _become a Hero."

The boy's scared look faded, defeat beginning to weld onto his features when a determination suddenly started burning his eyes. Letting out a sigh, Aizawa blinked and his dark hair fell back onto his shoulders. The cloth around the boy loosened and retracted back to their owner, returning to their scarf-like state on Aizawa's shoulders.

"I've returned your Quirk. You have one more attempt for the ball throw; don't waste it." The teacher told him, turning around with a scowl and walking off. I stiffened when I saw him turn his gaze onto me- his eyes narrowing briefly before he let out a huff. "Thorn."

"Y-Yeah?" Oh gods, what was it? Am I in trouble?

He gestured with his head to the crowd of students that were watching. "Use your eyes," He ordered, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out a little eye drops bottle, "Make sure none of them hurt themselves during the earlier tests."

Wait… what? T_hat's all?_ I made a face, blinking a couple of times, before shaking my head and doing as told. Stepping closer to the crowd of students and concentrating, the familiar golden light hit my vision and I walked slowly around the crowd- ignoring the stares and instead focusing on locating any particular lights.

It was then that I saw it. Barely anything at all, but it was the start of a muscle tear. I didn't register who the wound belonged it- it was as if I were in a trance, attention focused solely on the wound alone. Stepping forward I moved closer to the source, and had outstretched my hand to touch the bare arm of the owner when a sharp pain on my wrist snapped me out of it.

"_Don't _fucking _touch _me!"

Bakugou had smacked my arm away. I stepped back, frightened, my arms cradled to my chest. _Why him? _Casting a quick glance to the teacher, I grew disheartened when I saw he was focused on watching Midoriya preparing for the ball throw. A part of me wanted to cheer for the boy, to tell him he could do it, but I held myself back. This wasn't the time or place, and I had no reason to do it.

I looked at the ground, biting down on my bottom lip, before glancing back up at Bakugou. He was glarely intensely at me, red eyes promising a cruel demise if I tried anything. Why didn't he want to be healed? Did he not feel the pain in his arm? Is it because of it being a minor tear?

Closing my eyes, I pushed away the doubt and the fear and concentrated once more. Aizawa told me to do this; I was _determined _to do this. He blasted me once with his explosion; I could survive a second hit.

Scared brown eyes glimmering gold, my face went blank and I gave Bakugou a hard stare.

"_Hah? _Got something to say, pointy ears?" He raised a hand and flexed his fingers, sneering at me. Little fireworks went off in the palm of his hand. "_I'll kill you._"

In the most stupid, gutsy move of the day I raised my hand and slammed it onto his, forcing as much of my energy and stamina as I could into him before he could let out an explosion. Bakugou was briefly stunned, having not expected timid ol' me to actually touch him again, but he quickly recovered. Heat burned onto my wrist and I grit my teeth together for a short moment before crying out, releasing him and waving my arm wildly about as I stumbled back.

Scalded hand now pressed into my stomach, I cried out with an incredulous glare, "_What _is your issue!?"

"_You're _my issue!" He snapped, before pausing. His eyes flickered to his arm and he held it in front of his face, staring at his palm before he looked down at me. "The fuck?"

"You're _welcome_." I hissed, turning away with a scowl. I glanced up to see Midoriya taking a deep breath, sliding his foot back as he prepared to toss the object. The majority of the pain from the blast was gone, which I soon realized was because Bakugou wasn't trying to _burn _me more as he was trying to scare me into letting go.

Part of my ace wrap was burnt away, rims black from being heated, and my flesh was only a light red. If he wanted to severely injure me he could have. Looking at the group, I was surprised to see Kirishima lecturing Bakugou for being "unmanly" when I was "probably just trying to help", and how the girl from this morning (the one with the purple hair) was berating him for being a bully.

A couple others, strangely enough, joined in. The glasses guy seemed way too enthusiastic to lecture him, and all the people ganging up on the blond caused him to snap and start yelling back at them. Aizawa turned his head and glared, ordering everyone to "shut up and watch" as Midoriya started to reel his arm back.

In the corner of my eye I could see familiar red hair make its way over to me, and in response I quickly folded my arms over my chest. "He didn't hurt you too bad, did he?" Kirishima asked, whispering. I looked up at him strangely, wondering why he was so intent on talking to me. "Should we ask Mr. Aizawa to let you go to the infirmary once the rest of the tests are over?"

"...I'm fine." I stated, eyebrows furrowing as I tried to focus on Midoriya. I resisted the urge to flail my arm about, the scars on the limb feeling almost like insects crawling along my flesh. I felt sick. "I-I just- I'm fine. It's nothing." I inhaled a shaky breath and closed my eyes, only to open them when the class was hit with a huge blast of wind.

Midoriya, in throwing the ball, had let out a surge of power at the last possible point of contact and not only did he send it sailing high… _high _into the air, but he also managed to affect the wind pressure itself. When the boy stood up straight, he wore a pained grin on his face. And though his expression was strained and his lip was bleeding from how hard he was biting down on it, his eyes were _fire_.

"Mr. Aizawa…" He began, gripping his wrist tightly as he turned out, looking at the teacher with pure determination, "I can still _move_."

His fingers were curled into a trembling fist, but despite the pain he stood strong. Aizawa saw this- _saw _how his index finger was broken and swollen red- and the teacher just _smiled_. An impressed, almost wicked grin spread across his face as he raised the device he was holding to reveal what the score was.

Seven hundred and five point three meters. One point more than Bakugou.

"H-He actually did it." I breathed, stunned. I could hear the brunette with the big eyes cheering loudly, while the tall man with the glasses muttered to himself about how Midoriya had a "strange Quirk". Bakugou, who had seemed ready to fight with at least five students mere seconds ago, now stood in stunned silence. "Huh."

"Damn." I could hear Kirishima say. "That's amazing… the sheer power of the blast…"

A lot of people were cheering, others gaping in awe, while others just stared. My eyes zoomed in on the wound covering Midoriya's hand and I stepped forward, ready to heal him, but the crackling of explosives made me pause. _"Deku… YOU BASTARD! What the hell did you do!?_"

There was a moment of shock all around when flames suddenly exploded out from Bakugou's palms, multiple students diving out of the way to avoid getting hit by the blasts of heat. Then, as the enraged blond flew forward towards Midoriya with eyes promising to kill, the world seemed to slow down.

No. That was incorrect.

The world _did _slow down.

Midoriya's scream barely had time to leave his mouth when I stepped off, panic taking over my body and spurring me on into a run. I remembered the guards, the old woman, the people in the vehicle… I remembered scared little children, huddled into balls and sobbing for their families, and I remembered the look in the crone's single working eye. The rotten smell of despair.

The expression on the boy's face…

His terror…

It reminded me of _then_.

I had no doubt that Bakugou would beat Midoriya within an inch of his life to get answers. His eyes were filled with such hatred and rage; it was like malice itself was the very core of his being. And not wanting anyone to be hurt- unwilling to have an already injured stranger wounded more than he was- led to me running towards Bakugou, the wind tearing at my uniform and leaving it to smoke and burn up.

Within seconds I was there, and taking a one-chance leap into the air I lunged at the blond, arms outstretched. Midoriya looked even more terrified than before, and could only watch as the two of us went crashing clumsily onto the ground. The blasts that would have erupted were forced out, Aizawa erasing Bakugou's Quirk before he could get too out of hand.

As we hit the ground and rolled away from each other, I figured out one very important thing: unless he had the perfect timing Aizawa was unable to stop me. He had been able to erase my speed Quirk earlier because he had gotten me right as I had stepped off, but since I was running he could not _see _me. The teacher was only able to stop the blond.

However, now that we were both in sight metal alloy cloths reached out- easily binding us and pulling us far away from each other. "Fucking _hell_-" Bakugou cursed loudly. "What happened!?" He tried to look around, but could only move so much due to the restriction the cloths put on him. His gaze then settled on me and I flinched back, wondering why I always putting myself in these horrible situations. "You! Pointy ears! The hell did you do!? What are you!?"

_"-in a second-"_

_"-like she teleported-"_

_"-some Dragon Ball Z shit goin' on there-!"_

It was hard to hear the whispers over Bakugou's screaming, but what I did hear made me wish I never even came to school today. Everything just got worse and worse, didn't it? Opening my eyes I watched as Aizawa walked forward, tugging at the cloths and tightening their hold on Bakugou.

"Honestly…" Aizawa growled, glaring darkly at us. "How many times are you kids gonna make me use my quirk today? I have dry eye!" With a hard shove, he pulled the cloths away and blinked, knocking us both onto the floor as his hair fell back into his face. With a small groan I started to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me and I nearly fell back over.

_"-why'd she do that-?"_

_"-he's insane-!"_

_"-It's such a waste, since Mr. Aizawa has such an awesome quirk-"_

_"-what is even happening right now-?"_

_"-she's literally smoking-!"_

I stumbled onto my feet, a hand placed against my forehead as I waited for the world to stop spinning. Bakugou hadn't been that far away so I didn't lose too much weight, but it was still so sudden that it left me lightheaded. Multiple spots on my uniform had been burnt away. There was a noticeable change in my appearance and one of the students- a girl with long dark hair tied back in a pony- pointed it out to the others.

"And _you_…" A shadow hovering above me caused me to look up. Aizawa glared down sternly at me. "I told you _no running_; you were supposed to heal the injured and nothing else. You don't have the power to protect others, so quit acting like you do!"

What?

_No, that's not what I was-_

I couldn't think; my mind was a mess and the world around me was starting to spin. I couldn't think of an argument or even a simple excuse. I saw the rage and fear, and I had just… reacted. I panicked. I was scared.

"I-I wasn't- I hadn't been trying to-" I tried to speak my thoughts, but all that came out was a jumbled mess of words that didn't make sense. I had no idea what exactly I was trying to do, other than that I wanted Bakugou to stop and to keep Midoriya from being hurt.

I wasn't trying to protect anyone.

Or… was I?

I found myself left in a state of confusion, only able to stand there as the teacher lectured me. "I don't _care _what your intentions were, Thorn Irene," Aizawa snapped, "your job is to _heal_, not to fight. Your body will not hold up in a battle with that speed of yours." He scowled at me, then turned to face the other students who had been whispering amongst themselves. They froze in place upon seeing his dark stare. "Whoever's turn it is for the ball toss- hurry and go. We don't have all day."

Flinching and balling my hands up into fists, I tried not to recoil too much when Aizawa walked passed me to observe the rest of the tests. Staring down at the ground and blinking back tears, I fought against the sob trying to build up in the back of my throat. I _hated _being yelled at.

Over three-quarters of the world had quirks; the majority of which were either offensive or defensive Quirks. A rare portion, an incredibly small portion, of that were supportive Quirks. Quirks that wouldn't do well in a real fight. Quirks that were made to help people from the background.

I was not like the people in my class. I was not like my family. I had a support Quirk.

I would get killed in a real fight.

But that didn't mean it hurt any less to know that.

I remained standing there for the duration of the last few tests, feeling completely apathetic about how the rest were going to go. When it came to the last one, I turned around and walked off, heading into the locker room and tearing off the torn gym top. Eyes closed, I pulled on the uniform button-up and quickly switched out my pants for socks. I could hear my phone vibrating in my locker, but I didn't care to answer it.

At this moment in time… I just didn't care about anything. Not about the people outside, not about who was going to get expelled, not even about who called me or how Bakugou was most likely going to attack me again later.

So why, through all the numbness and apathy I felt… did my chest still hurt? Why was there this lump in the back of my throat?

Pulling up and buttoning my skirt, I grabbed my uniform blazer and tie. Not bothering with the tie, I reached into the pockets and pulled out a couple pieces of jerky. Whether through necessity or sadness I always ate; food was a comfort and it helped me to recover from the weightloss I often have to deal with. A blessing, yet forever my curse.

My phone vibrated again.

Completely exhausted from the days events, I let out a heavy sigh before reaching into one of my skirt pockets and pulling out the device. I stared lifelessly at the screen, hardly able to feel even a spark of relief or joy when I saw the name.

_Maria: Hey, short-stop. Everything still going good? Currently on patrol right now._

No. Everything was not going good. In fact, today was going as horribly as I could have ever imagined. I…

I want to go home.

**Bakugou is such a friendly guy. :D Aizawa is a tad intense, Kirishima makes friends with everyone, and Midoriya figures out how to semi-control One for All. Woo! **


	5. Another Day, Another Memory

_"I don't know how I got this way, I know it's not alright; so I'm breaking the habit~ I'm breaking the habit tonight!"_

I could hear the voices of the other students not long after I had finished eating. I removed myself from the bench I was sitting on and quickly tossed the empty bag into a trashcan. I wouldn't be alone for long, given by how close the voices were, so I tied the cloth around my neck as best as as I could. It looked like a ribbon tied into a knot rather than an actual _tie_, but who really cared? So long as I was wearing the uniform there wouldn't be much of any issue.

_"-so many cool Quirks-" _One of the people said, excited.

_"-this class is awesome-" _Another claimed.

_"-can't believe the teacher lied like that-" _A girl stated disappointedly.

I waited until after the girls began to file in to act. I hid beside the door, crouched down and out of view, watching in silence as they entered the room. Once they were all inside I made my escape, sliding out the door before it closed shut on me. My ears picked up on the whispers of the other students, all either whispering about an expulsion that wasn't going to happen or the insanity that was a certain explosive blond and the crazed foreigner who tackled him.

No one seemed to notice me, which meant my attempt to be stealthy was actually working rather well. I folded my arms over my chest, walking as quietly as I could until I reached the back of the group that gathered outside. Folding my arms over my chest, I took that opportunity to sit down on the ground and tried not to think about Aizawa's words too much. I felt bad about not responding to Maria's message, but I really didn't want to lie to her.

A few more minutes passed and the last few remaining students left the changing rooms. I was getting some weird stares, people finally noticing where I was, but none asked about it. I was just about to stand up, thinking we were going to be heading directly back to the classroom, when the teacher called out two names. To my chagrin one of them happened to be _my _name.

"Midoriya Izuku, Thorn Irene! Get over here, now."

The whispering students grew silent. All eyes turned towards the two of us and, though I really didn't want to do so, I dragged myself over to the teacher with my head held low. The boy I had defended from Bakugou before was making his way there as well. With as expressionless a look I could manage I stopped in front of the teacher, my fingers gripping the sleeves of my blazer tightly. Aizawa looked annoyed as he stared down at us with his bloodshot eyes.

He turned to face the class. "Thorn Irene is the fifth student brought to U.A by recommendations. You won't recognize her from the exams, because she wasn't admitted for the same reason you all were. She was recommended to U.A for one reason: she has a Quirk that allows her to heal others. If any of you get hurt during training here at U.A you are to seek out Thorn's assistance. If it's too serious an injury you will be delivered to Recovery Girl for surgery instead as we do not fully comprehend yet the limits of Thorn's ability. Understand?"

One of the students raised a hand. Aizawa's eyebrow twitched, but he called on the student. The creeper from before spoke up, practically drowning in the crowd of students that were all normal height and/or taller. "If her Quirk is healing how did she teleport like she did earlier!? Does she have two Quirks!?"

"Yes. The other is a speed Quirk; listed as _blink_. She didn't teleport; you just couldn't see her. Anything else?" No one said anything. Midoriya was staring at me, his forest colored gaze boring into my skull. He had this contemplative look on his face, eyes flitting back-and-forth from me to Bakugou and then back at me. It was as if he was trying to figure out something. "That being said… Thorn, heal the idiot."

"Eh?" Midoriya blinked, having not expected the insult. He looked up at Aizawa, voice cracking as he stammered, "W-Wait, is-is this really okay; she looks unwell!"

"It's fine." I cut in, holding my right hand out. The bags under my eyes felt like dead weights, my eyelids having trouble staying open. I wanted to avoid interacting with any people, but I came here to heal. That included Midoriya's broken finger. Though my chest still hurt, the numbness came through and was heard plainly in my voice. The pure apathy of just _not _caring. "It won't hurt. Promise."

Too many things happened today and Aizawa yelling at me had been the last straw. He was right, of course, about how I needed to do everything I could to not run. Doing so would leave me unable to do my job. I surpassed Recovery Girl in terms of healing strength and delivery; her Quirk was good for a lot, but if she wasn't careful she could kill her patient. She was an actual surgeon on top of that.

What we knew about _my _Quirk was that I could revitalize a person in both health and strength, but at the cost of my own vitality. I could heal a person from practically any injury (from what I've encountered so far, at least) but I would be unable to properly heal them if there was any foreign material inside the wound such as shattered glass, wood splinters, bullets, and etc. I could heal _around _that area, just not that spot itself.

Recovery Girl, if the acceptance recording of her talking to me held true, is supposed to be teaching me the basics of removing foreign materials for that reason during the times where the class heads out for battle training. Surgery 101, I guess. So much for my two-year no-running routine; all that effort went out the window the moment my sister and I arrived in Japan, apparently. I'm back to square one. Fantastic.

_Just what I wanted…_

Midoriya hesitated, hearing the lack of emotion in my voice. After a short pause he held up his wounded hand, broken finger sticking out among the other unharmed ones. It was badly swollen, the flesh tinged crimson from the way the bones were poking out. Careful not to disturb the wound I grabbed his wrist, the boy practically jumping out of his skin from the contact. His face flushed red, but I ignored it _and _the way his eyes zoned in on the bandages wrapped around my palm.

_Okay… focus. _I concentrated on the wound, a golden glow appearing in my vision. A small, barely audible gasp escaped Midoriya's lips and he stiffened, feeling a sudden surge of energy flow into him and throughout his body. He was completely fascinated by the way the finger snapped back into place, the swelling going down as the joints realigned. _Everything's done…_

"Thorn Irene," Midoriya muttered to himself, staring at the finger that was now perfectly unharmed, "healing and speed… deadly run..." I stepped back away from him, mildly concerned about the way he was rambling quietly to himself. He spoke so quickly that even though I could hear him I was unable to translate any of what he said. "Thorn Irene… blink..."

I yawned, swaying slightly and barely catching myself in time to avoid falling over. I blinked repeatedly, waiting for my vision to clear. The golden lights faded as did the multiple clones of my classmates, and everything returned to normal. As normal as everything _could _be at least. Midoriya clamped a hand over his mouth and muttered something again, but his voice was muffled.

Aizawa started to walk away, leaving the class to follow him from behind. Waiting until everyone else was ahead- or, rather, mostly everyone because a few stayed behind- I tried to hide in the back. Unfortunately, one of the people who had stayed behind was Kirishima… and he was determined to keep talking to me. "So it's true!? You were healing Bakugou, right? It was so manly how you defended Midoriya! I'm impressed!"

I'd rather you not be, but there isn't much I can do about it at this point. I kept my mouth shut, believing that if I didn't respond to anything he said he might grow tired of speaking to me. A student in front of us, an invisible girl whose name I soon learned was Hagakure Tooru, waved her arms excitedly in the air. "Right!? Bakugou-San was blasting his explosions like crazy, but then Thorn-San just vanished and reappeared out of thin air! It was so cool! And when Mr. Aizawa came in to stop him from hurting anyone-"

I walked slower, trailing behind them as Hagakure got caught up in her story telling. Kirishima was rambling excitedly along with her, but Bakugou- who had overheard the conversation- started yelling at them to be quiet. My head began to ache and I pressed a hand against my forehead, biting down on my bottom lip and pausing briefly in my walk to wait for the wave of dizziness to go away.

My health wasn't in top condition due to my sporadic sleep schedule, so healing others drained more energy than what it should. What boosted vitality my healing Quirk gave me was halved due to my unhealthy condition, so where I should have overwhelming amounts of stamina to the point of pure _restlessness _I now had less than average. Without sleep, without proper recovery, my body was frail and easily breakable.

And though I knew that… I just couldn't bring myself to close my eyes and rest.

I watched with an exhausted gaze as Hagakure bounced around, skirt spinning and shirt sleeves waving happily through the air. _Does she act like that to stand out? _She was invisible so being noticed must be difficult for her- even with clothes on. I wondered why, in that case, someone would want to get noticed. If I had been invisible instead of… whatever this was… then avoiding people would be easy.

I wouldn't have had to worry about unwanted attention or being recognized from online media. No one would have asked me any horrible questions because they wouldn't _see _me. If I had been invisible then the old woman's lackies never would have-

"Ne, Thorn!" The voice snapped me out of my darkening thoughts. I jumped, looking up with wide eyes at the hand waving in front of my face. Concerned red eyes stared at me, the redhead leaning down so we were closer in height. His shark teeth smile had fallen into a frown. "You okay? You look like you're gonna pass out."

"I…" I was frozen in place, temporarily forgetting how to speak the language. Every word he said translated inside my head, but I was so startled by the look of genuine _worry _that I forgot how to speak. How far ahead was the rest of the class now? Did I really stop for that long? "I-I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Do we need to ask Mr. Aizawa if you can go the nurse's office?" Hagakure asked, voice soft. I shook my head, feeling as though I was hit with multiple emotions at once. Emotions I had been trying to bury. Feelings that I had casted away. Not knowing what else to do, I hugged myself tightly and marched forward, pushing passed the two strangers. "Eh? Th-Thorn-San, wait up!"

"Aw, come on! You really leaving us behind!? And here I thought we were getting along!"

_No. W-We're not_. Don't respond to them._ Don't talk to them. _When we get back to class I am finding a seat far away from them and anyone else who even thinks about talking to me. I will be avoiding Kirishima, Hagakure, Creepy Kid, and Bakugou if it's the last thing I do. The only reason I sat next to the redhead was because my seat number fourteen had been taken.

As I walked through the halls I thought about the best place to sit.

_Back and front are off limits- teachers are always looking for students there to call on. Middle is safe, but where in the middle? Not directly, that's too dangerous. Maybe closer to the door…?_

That way I can leave the classroom in a hurry if need be. Perfect.

I approached the classroom door with a mild confidence, ready to pack up my things and discover a new spot to sit, only to immediately slump in defeat when I saw what Aizawa was having the other students do.

They were all rearranging themselves by last name and number. A seating chart.

_K-Kirishima and Thorn are two totally different last names… so it should be fine, right?_

Wrong.

I had been seated in the worst possible spot to have ever existed.

On my left was Midoriya Izuku, the boy who I had healed, and on my right was Kirishima Eijirou. In front _and _behind Midoriya- in respective order- sat Bakugou Katsuki and Mineta Minoru. Mineta Minoru being the creepy little boy I saw this morning trying to look up some girl's skirt. That "some girl" being, unfortunately, seated behind him- Yaoyorozu Momo. Poor girl just wasn't getting a break from him. In front of me sat the boy from the race, Sero Hanta, and two seats behind me was the very same boy I bumped into that had the scar on his face- Todoroki Shōto.

I was also quite a ways from the door that was meant to my escape route.

I had come to the conclusion that the world itself was out to get me, both figuratively and literally. Not knowing how else to cope with this, I promptly face-planted onto the desk. The teacher, Aizawa, took the remaining fifteen minutes of class to curl up into his bright yellow sleeping bag, passing out within seconds. I could hear Kirishima talking to Sero about the fitness tests, and then- directed at me- he said that if Aizawa hadn't been lying Midoriya might have been expelled.

I raised my face up from the desk and rested my chin on the edge, peering at the redhead with dull eyes. I then glanced at the green-haired boy in question, watching as he sunk into his seat, his fingers pulling at his curly mess of green hair, an imaginary raincloud pouring down above him. He obviously overheard Kirishima talking about him.

"I was so scared," He admitted, voice cracking, burying his face in his arms, "I-I thought Mr. Aizawa was serious…"

The look Aizawa had when he had said that he was going to expel a student _was _serious. There was nothing in his expression that said otherwise. It was glaringly obvious. So… why? What made him change his mind?

My head began to throb again from thinking so much and I winced. A chill then ran through my body and I shivered, realizing at the moment just how off my body temperature was. I thought it felt like I might have had a fever when I stopped to feel my forehead earlier, but this and the continual lightheadedness was… well, it was really leading up to it being a high possibility. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I _was _sick.

Reaching into my backpack and pulling out multiple prescribed vitamins and pills, I pretended not to notice the stares from Midoriya, Sero, and Kirishima as I chugged them all down with a protein drink. I think the girl in the back of the class noticed, too, for a frown had settled on her lips. It felt a little weird doing all this in the middle of a classroom, but at the moment I _really _didn't care. It was doctor's orders.

"Wh-Why so many?" Midoriya stammered. "Are you even allowed to have those in school?"

Kirishima leaned to the side, which caused _me _to lean to the side and slide down in my seat so he could speak to Midoriya without raising his voice too much. I hated being seated in the middle of people having a conversation; it always made me feel like I was in the way. It's so awkward. The redhead held a hand up to his mouth, whispering, "She was eating earlier this morning. It apparently has to do with one of her Quirks."

"One of-ah!" Midoriya let out a gasp, having an epiphany. "That's right! Your speed eats away at your body so you need to take supplements constantly to stay healthy, don't you!?"

How did he figure that out so fast? The weight I lost wasn't _too _noticeable… I don't think. I've been gaining weight back up after all my snacking in the locker room. Ever since the incident I tried to be more careful with my health, which was _why _I worked so hard not to run for two whole years. But since coming here to Japan it feels like my progress has been regressing. I spent so much of my life going in and out of temporary comas that my weightloss never bothered me when I was younger. I used to be so active as a child that even after my Quirks appeared I never cared much about it.

Some of my temporary sleep spells were caused by my gym teachers, but the majority of them were simply because I was very competitive in nature… once you got me to be competitive about something, at least. I hated losing once challenged to a race. I could be both a sore loser and a sore winner, depending the situation.

The comas had always felt like a long nap- sometimes a really quick one if I wasn't aware of everything going around me- but the month long one had been… very scary for me. Falling back into deep thought, I recalled what that experience had been like. It was longest I had been out and blindly aware of my surroundings. Every other time I knew I was in a hospital, but because the incident happened and I fainted sometime while I was in the lab…

The rescue felt like a delusion.

_...Voices? What… happened to me? What's going on? Who's talking? Someone was clearly saying something, but whatever words were leaving their mouth ended up being inaudible. A bright light shined down on me through the darkness, blinding me, and a strange smell hit my nostrils. It was different from the dark room- stronger and almost burning my nose with its intensity._

_A bit like the cloth the stranger used in the park. It was a little dizzying._

_Wait… what's going on? Didn't the Heroes show up? Why can't I move? My arms- what's wrong with my arms? Th-They won't- I'm not- __no. __No, the Heroes showed up. Maria showed up. I heard her. I saw her. I remember her. She was there._

_Unless… I'm still on the table. The old woman won. I-I'm strapped down to the table still, aren't I?_

_I-I can't…_

_Something suddenly shifted in my stomach and it occured to me that my entire torso felt cold. Cold and exposed. A thing kept moving around inside, as if groping about and messing with my inner organs. It hurt and it was gross, and I was scared. The voices had multiplied now._

_I remembered the old woman- the crazy mad scientist with the blind crimson eye- and her lab. The disgusting smile she gave me as she spoke about her Master._

_She… She was experimenting on me, wasn't she? And I couldn't do anything. I was going to die here. I was going to die a-and no one would even notice. Why? What for? Was it because I failed as a younger sister; because I couldn't understand what anyone was going through? Was that truly reason enough for me to be killed like… like this?_

_I... don't want to die._

_I don't want to die!_

_Somebody, please… get me out of here._

I had been in such a state of deliria that it hadn't even occurred to me that it could have been the doctors performing surgery to stop internal bleeding. A loud beeping noise, belonging to that of a heart monitor, had accompanied me during that entire month- to the point that I thought it was counting down to my death- for when my Quirks would have been stolen and I would have become nothing more than an amalgamation. What did that crazed woman call her experiments?

_Her precious… Nomu? _I shivered and felt bile rise up at the back of my throat, recalling the horrifying way she stared me down, cooing at me. _No, no, no. Don't think._

When the room my comatose body was in went dark and the voices left I had assumed I was left to rot, but then days passed. The nurses that came in to check on me and replace equipment felt more like the old crone and her accomplices taking my body apart and stitching it back together again.

_I said don't think! I-I don't want to… recall… _The hand that wasn't holding the drink pressed against my mouth, trying very hard to repress the urge to vomit. I swallowed the acids back down, blinking fiercely as I felt something twist inside me, phantom and imaginary, yet still very real. _Why…?_

It was sickening. Frightening. When I finally woke up from the coma I had been crying. Seeing the equipment and everything that was attached to my body- wiring, breathing tubes, a catheter, multiple … I just sort of blanked out. It was difficult registering that the people that had been torturing me were actually trying to _save _me, and when Maria showed up…

I nearly went into shock. After all these years apart she was actually _here_ in front of me. My thirteen-year-old self, broken and traumatized and frail, could only stare in disbelief that she was _real_ as she talked about the crime report. The Heroes had been real.

Setting my drink down on my lap as I became lost in my memories, I thought about what the doctors had told me. They said that it was normal for comatose patients with a sense of awareness to be afraid; a reaction caused by a mind being trapped inside of a body that couldn't do anything except lie there. They claimed it was normal to concoct hallucinations to try and rationalize what was going on around them. But because my body was so weak from the abuse it took and the overuse of my Quirks, sometime shortly after surgery my heart just… stopped.

It wasn't something the hospital _wanted _to tell me, what with my being just a kid, but mother accidentally spilled the beans about my "death" and they had to explain in detail to me about what happened. Dad had been really furious when he found out what she did. If they weren't already divorced he probably would have done so again.

It's actually most likely the reason _why _I was out for a whole month. Having suffered so much damage and needing my heart to be started again my body required extra time to repair. "Y-Yeah…" I mumbled, voice barely above a whisper as I replied to Midoriya. Hands shaking I tightened my hold on the drink, knuckles white. "I can regain weight easily, but my body severely lacks the nutrients it needs so if I'm not careful I… I can end up comatose."

_Just… breathe. We're fine. We're here. No one can hurt you anymore- not unless you let them. It's fine. I'm fine. Relax._

Perhaps this was enough information to divulge? It wouldn't give too much away and… I'd rather not go any further into detail. I didn't even want to be having this conversation; maybe I shouldn't take my medicine in class if it leads to situations like this. I could just wait until lunch. I wonder if eating in the classroom during that time is an actual thing we're allowed to do. Anything to avoid socializing.

Kirishima and Sero looked rather horrified at my statement- almost as though they've never heard of a Quirk that could have such serious repercussions. There were plenty of people with Quirks that weren't very pretty- Midoriya was actually a rather good example of that. His finger broke apart upon using his ability. The green-haired boy in question looked at me, appearing rather nervous. I was beginning to question if he was uncomfortable around girls in general.

"Um, Th-Thorn-San… may I ask you something?"

I looked at him, expression rather blank as a sense of apathy washed over me. Sero and Kirishima were listening in on the conversation- as was the boy behind me. It was probably difficult not to seeing as he was _right there_ and the four of us were talking in front of him. He was the kid with the bird-head and the weird shadow body living inside him. "What is it?"

"I-it's… It's actually about your Quirks…" Midoriya shifted in his seat uncomfortably, ruffling his already messy hair. He kept stammering, a bunch of gibberish flying right over my head as the words were too choppy to translate. "Th-That is… um. C-Could it be that m-maybe…"

My eyes flickered towards the clock on the wall to check the time, waiting for the school day to end. I waited patiently for Midoriya to finish, but I didn't really want to continue the conversation. I disliked being asked questions as much as I disliked talking about my Quirks. Unfortunately, I hated being intentionally rude to people so I couldn't bring myself to say _No, don't talk to me_.

It was a contradictory feeling as I hated human beings with a passion. The only exception to this would be my family, All Might, and Maria's best friend...s? Arik was really nice, but Hizashi… I wasn't quite used to. He was really intimidating.

"S-Sometime a… a few years ago..." Midoriya trailed off, voice cracking. He brought his hands up to his mouth and turned away, green eyes oddly misty. He looked terrified of his own voice and when he spoke it was hard to make out the words, everything he said muffled by his hands. Hunched over in his seat, he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and lowered his hands just slightly so he could be heard. Realizing what he was trying to ask my stomach filled with dread. "Could it be that… that there was this… _month_… t-two years ago where you were in a h-h-hospital?"

He knew. It was just a little piece of information I gave out, but Midoriya _knew_.

_No._

Is that why he was behaving so strangely outside earlier after I healed him?

_No, no, no, no, no, no…_

That would explain why he had kept muttering my name to himself and why he had been repeating himself so much. He was trying to put together the connection between meand the child All Might and Time Bomb had saved.

The crude mixture of apathy and anxiety I felt seemed to swell up, the huge gap inside my chest of pure _nothing _bursting with fear. I froze in place, suddenly unable to breathe. Kirishima and Sero began to question Midoriya, causing the boy to let out a squeak and shrink further back into his seat, but their words didn't reach my ears. I remained in place, a coldness washing over me. Exhaustion, alarm, and then… defeat.

I had been aware that remaining quiet was impossible for me, but I let my guard drop like an utter fool after speaking with Kirishima this morning. There was no reason why someone else wouldn't figure it out just because he didn't; it was inevitable. Especially since it was a huge case about a Villain who had went about killing and experimenting on children for multiple years- a monsterous being that couldn't even be called human who had actually _originated _from Japan. From my understanding of it, All Might had tracked the person down to America because of it after he had found some leads. As such, it was ridiculous to assume that I could live here without someone learning the truth.

Sero looked back-and-forth between me and Midoriya, speaking curiously and with confusion. Kirishima tapped his hand on my desk a few times, trying to get my attention, but I didn't react. Midoriya was hiding his face in his hands, looking ashamed of himself.

There was no point in trying to run away from the past… to rewrite my history.

It haunted me no matter where I was or what I was doing. Once the word gets out the questions will come back as well… I'll have to sit there and be forced to listen to the cruel ramblings of strangers. Why can't people just leave it alone? Why can't they leave _me _alone?

I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to answer anything.

_I don't want to continue living like this._

Why can't it stop?

_I won't survive three years like this._

With a sharp intake of air I sat up in my seat and forcefully snapped out of my thoughts, clutching the drink in my lap tightly. The voices speaking to me finally registered, but I didn't respond to any of them. I was concentrating on calming down, my arms and legs shaking ever-so-slightly.

A few more moments passed where I did nothing but sit there, breathing in-and-out and counting quietly to myself with each inhale and exhale I held or released. Kirishima stopped tapping on my desk, Sero quit questioning Midoriya, and Midoriya stopped apologizing for asking about the incident. Everything was silent save for some of the students that were still chatting with each other. Once I had gotten to a point where I had relaxed enough that my heart was no longer racing within my chest, I glanced at the clock.

Eight minutes left until class ends.

My hands twitched and I took another swig of the breakfast drink before putting it back into my school bag. Not having anything to hold or distract myself, my fingers tapped erratically against the desk's top for a couple measures before I retracted my hand and held it against my sickly stomach. The gross, violated feeling still hadn't left.

Six more minutes.

Without any warning Kirishima shot up out of his seat, standing up and smacking his hand against the top of his desk. Voice loud enough for _everyone in the classroom to hear_ the redhead exclaimed with a look of realization dawning on his face, staring down at Midoriya, "Was Thorn caught in a Villain situation; like Bakugou was last year!?"

All the chattering went quiet.

I resigned myself to my fate.

Sero sat up in his desk, ignoring the furious red eyes of an explosive blond that were now trained on him as he said, "Is _that _what you were talking about, Midoriya? I've heard about the Sludge Villain incident, but…"

"Th-That's-" Midoriya began to stammer, waving his hands frantically in the air in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Th-This isn't really something we should be t-talking aboo_uuaAH!_" He let out a terrified scream, an explosion going off on his desk as one of Bakugou's hands slammed down in front of him. The poor boy's notebooks were completely scorched on the top, black marks from where they were burnt steaming ever so slightly.

Bakugou glared vehemently at all four us and snapped, "I can _hear _you!"

I flinched in response to his harsh tone and quickly turned away, hands lacing together tightly. The blond focused a particularly malicious stare towards the cowering Midoriya, who let out another terrified squeak in response.

"Stop talking about me behind my fucking back!"

My foot began to tap impatiently against the ground as I glanced up at the clock. I picked my bag up and set it on my desk, anxiously checking to make sure I had everything inside for when I left. Maria was going to be meeting me at the gate and I didn't want to leave anything behind; I really needed to see her right now and the thought of coming back into the school when I didn't have to left me unsettled.

She always helped calm me down- even if it was just with her being in the same room.

I glanced out of the corner of my eyes to see that Midoriya was apologizing repeatedly to Bakugou, sinking further down into his seat as the blond's glare got darker and darker. Shaky hands clenched tightly together on my lap, I remembered what Bakugou had said. He had claimed that the green-haired boy had been the one talking about him, but in actuality it had been Kirishima and Sero. Midoriya was being falsely accused.

_Sh… Should I speak up for him? _What would I even say to the blond? Chances were the situation would only become worse if I tried anything. There's no way I would even be able to hold my ground against him; from what the tests earlier showed Bakugou was extremely powerful. He definitely wasn't as strong as Time Bomb, but… he was still threatening. _It's not worth it…_

Nothing good would come out of standing up to Bakugou and defending Midoriya. He knows about the incident, so that meant he might end up telling everyone; he has no reason not to. Sometimes I wished I didn't exist.

_I shouldn't help him._

My purpose here at this Academia was to focus on healing people. There was never any indication that I would need to care or worry about strangers or their problems; I just needed to mind my own business. No one ever went out of their way to place themselves in my shoes, so why should I go out of my way to feel for them?

_I won't._

Emotions are weakness. Dad always went on about how I should learn to bottle them up. That's what I was trying to do right now… so there's absolutely no reason as to why I should be feeling scared, imagining how terrifying it must be to fall under the focus of that chilling red gaze. To look at Midoriya and see the tears welling up in his eyes, the pure _fear _in his gaze as he was shouted and cursed at.

_I-It's not… my problem…_

"-fuck off, Deku!"

My voice felt like it was trapped in my throat and it was difficult not to choke, but before Bakugou could hurt Midoriya or go any further with his insults I was standing, leaning over the green-haired boy's desk and throwing an arm out in front of him protectively. I didn't say anything at first, simply struggling to stand my ground, but after a few seconds I managed to find my voice. "H-He wasn't even the one talking about you! J-Just… Just shove off!"

Bakugou's glare was intense, eyes burning furiously with a barely restrained fire. Feeling small, like a timid rabbit against the rage of a fire breathing dragon, my mind went blank and panic began to take over. It grew difficult to translate and eventually I forgot what words meant what in their language.

"H… he di… didn't…"

The words died on my tongue. Unable to speak and lacking the ability to understand the foreign language I just stood there frozen in place. I didn't know what to do anymore.

I registered the fact that Midoriya was saying something that sounded suspiciously like my name as he sat up, but he went on to say something else to Bakugou. I think Kirishima and Sero were trying to back him up, but the blond reacted poorly. Bakugou shot out of his chair and lunged, a small shriek escaping my lips when a hand was suddenly gripping the tie around my throat, pushing me back towards my desk. Effectively pinned against the chair he let out an explosion onto my school bag, the boy _seething _with fury.

…

"Who the hell do you think you are, you fucking background character!?" Bakugou screeched, shaking the girl by her uniform necktie. "_Hah!?_"

Why the fuck was she trying to stand up to him? She was just another pebble in his path, yet she had the gall to try and defend worthless Deku? He tightened his grip, glaring down at her, a couple sparks crackling around the palms of his hands.

"Answer me!"

He could hear Dekupleading with him to let the girl go, but Bakugou ignored him. First the green-haired bastard got into U.A and ruined his perfect plan, then he found out that the boy had straight up lied to him about being Quirkless, and now he was standing up to him _again?_ It was bad enough Deku was growing a backbone against him after all these years of trailing behind him like the worm he was supposed to be, but now he had this pointy-eared brat to deal with too.

She wasn't even responding to anything he was saying. Her frail form just dangled from his hold, trembling and going into some sort of shock as he shouted at her. Her eyes were wide and misty as she was forced to meet his gaze, but even though she didn't respond the thing that pissed Bakugou off the most was that the girl didn't even seem like she was really looking at him. Like she wasn't afraid of _him_, but something else. "WELL!?"

Again, no response. It wasn't even like she was there anymore; any words she could have spoken died on her tongue and she ended up gasping, her pale skin turning a sickly white. Grip tightening to the point he was almost choking her, Bakugou's lips curled back and he snarled.

"What happens between me and Deku doesn't involve _you! _That means back then, now, and later! And keep your shitty healing to yourself! Just die!"

"HEY!" There was a flash of red and Shitty Hair was cutting in, shoving a hardened arm between the two and pushing Bakugou back. The blond's grip on the girl loosened and she fell to the ground, hunched over with her hands over her throat. Shitty Hair's uniform sleeve was completely torn up and shredded due to his hardened rock-like skin. "Leave her alone, asshole! She's totally freaked out!"

"Die!" Bakugou barked, glowering at the redhead. "I'll kill you!"

"What's your issue!?" Shitty Hair demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Quit bein' so unmanly! A Hero isn't supposed to upset people!"

"THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW!? I'M GONNA-"

Bakugou was never able to finish. The classroom had grown so loud that it had awoken the previously sleeping teacher, and upon seeing what was going on Aizawa had taken it upon himself to remove himself from the sleeping bag halfway and sat up, restraining Bakugou once more by using the cloths around his neck. With a hard yank Bakugou was sent stumbling backwards, forcefully tossed into his seat.

"Class is over." The teacher stated, scowling. "Go home."

"FUUUUMMMFF!" Bakugou screamed furiously, trying to tear the cloth apart with his teeth. It didn't work very well and he was left to sit there in his seat to fume. Multiple students spoke up, calling out the blond and his horrible behavior, and scolded him. One student in particular stood, waving his hands around robotically as he spoke up.

"How many times are you going to attack a defenseless student!? You are acting like a Villain rather than a Hero! Correct yourself, immediately!"

"Yeah!" A girl with pink skin and hair agreed, following suit and standing up in her seat. "You tried to attack Midoriya earlier and now you're attacking the same girl for a _third _time!? That's far from heroic!"

Bakugou just glared at them, unable to defend himself due to the restraints muffling his voice. Aizawa completely removed the rest of himself from the sleeping bag and stood, raising his voice once more with irritable eyes. "Be _quiet! _Didn't I tell you to go home?" The students all went silent, intimidated by the gruff teacher. The bandages that were wrapped around Bakugou unwound themselves and returned to Aizawa's shoulders. "Well?"

Some of the children began to pack up their things, though appeared hesitant to leave. Aizawa walked out from behind the podium in front of the classroom and neared the desks, eyes trained on one particular student that was still on the ground. Midoriya was muttering to himself, looking nervously down at the female classmate that had yet to recover from Bakugou's attack.

"Th-Thorn-San…?" The boy called out, concerned. "I-It's okay now; Kacchan isn't going to hurt you again…"

The girl didn't respond. A good portion of the students were gone now, having left the classroom to head to their lockers. Thorn was shaking, fingers digging into her forearms, eyes fixated solely on the ground and nothing else as she struggled to breathe. Sweat was beading down the side of her face, skin pale and slightly clammy. Kirishima began to worm between the desks, trying to make his way over to check on his classmate, but Aizawa beat him to it.

He knelt down in front of the young teen, calling her name quietly a few times in an attempt to elicit a response. He spoke in her natural tongue, the English falling from his lips easily and surprising many of the students that were still in the classroom. "Can you hear me?" The girl jolted, head lifting just slightly. "Do you know who I am?"

"...I-I-" She couldn't speak; she felt dizzy and weak and like she was going to throw up. All she could focus on were the memories of the men who hurt her, who attacked her, and the fear that she would be hurt once more. Her vision was blurred and as she tried to focus all she saw was this big black haze. She recognized the voice, but couldn't name it. "I-"

"Do you know where you are?"

Wh-Where she- Where was- _she can't-_

Scared. Shutting down. A hand outstretched towards her and she freaked, jolting away as if it were fire. "Deep breaths," she heard the voice say, "Relax. You're not in danger."

Not… in danger?

...Safe?

Thorn felt incredibly lightheaded. She tried to do as told, even to the point where she was holding her breath for a few seconds before inhaling or exhaling. The next time a hand reached out for her the girl didn't recoil. She managed to recover enough to realize it belonged to the person speaking. It rested gently on her shoulder, the tired voice talking quietly to her. "You are in the classroom 1-A… nowhere else. Focus. Think. Analyze your surroundings."

Classroom… oh. _Oh. _Right.

…

I'm not… I'm not there. I'm here. I'm… at school. What was I… doing?

Bakugou.

H-He was… I had…

Conversation. Right. I was talking with Midoriya, Sero, and Kirishima when… Bakugou started yelling at the timid green-haired kid. I wasn't going to say anything, but then I did and he… grabbed me. He started screaming at me and I… remembered the old woman's single eye. They were almost the same shade as red. I could recall the shouting, the beating, and the enraged look in his eyes...

My fingers dug further into my arms, almost painfully so, and I forced back all I could of the dark memories. _Not there. I'm not there. I'm here. HERE. _I'm in the classroom a-and… the voice talking to me belonged to… Aizawa?

Though I was still dazed and hadn't fully recovered, I lifted my gaze up and met a pair of dark eyes. "I'm… here…"

"Yeah. You are." He confirmed, nodding his head. His mop of black hair fell into his face, the adult tightening his hold on my shoulder just slightly. "Can you stand and walk?"

…

When Midoriya Izuku was thirteen years old he spent his time on the internet reading up on all of the blogs and sites pertaining to All Might. He was a devoted fan, memorizing and writing down all he could to learn about him and all other professional Heroes. One day he came across a new video- more recent and in a foreign language. Luckily whoever posted it had translated it, so Midoriya was able to read up on it and watch the scene.

It was a rare case that involved All Might working with another Hero, a young woman by the title Time Bomb, and Midoriya felt pleased with himself for having stumbled across such an interesting news article. However, that happiness slowly turned into horror when he saw what the case was about. The crime in question had went on for over a decade, mysterious disappearances of children having happened all over Japan and America as well as the homicides of many people.

When the case was finally solved the current body count from over the years had been stacked to over a hundred, with forty-two of the surviving "children" having been converted into cold-hearted lackies.. The leader, and the forty-third Villain, was a mad scientist who had somehow managed to figure out how to remove a Quirk from a person's body and input it into another's. She had a horrible habit of physically torturing her victims first before getting to work, being known to have a sadistic streak throughout her career.

It was suspected that she was an underling of someone much higher, the woman often muttering about her Master, and was recorded cursing all Heroes and the single girl who had allowed her last few specimens escape.

No mercy was shown in court and the Villain was sentenced to death row in America. The eight children (who had been more recently abducted) that had managed to escape with their lives were returned to their families, though they spent a few days in the hospital. Their mental and emotional states were going to suffer, so they were all sent to speak with a professional child psychotherapist during their stay. The ninth child, the girl who had saved them, who had healed them and stalled the Villains long enough for them to escape, had fallen into a coma.

She had suffered terrible injuries from the incident, having been abused by the kidnappers and having sacrificed her own wellbeing to save those few children. Thirteen-year-old Midoriya was horrified, but had to admit that the girl's actions were very heroic. She was the same age as him, but she still went out of her way in such a terrifying situation to save others.

Back then, Midoriya Izuku was Quirkless. He had no hope of being a hero, despite his determination to try and become one. He wondered, if he were ever in that kind of situation, would he be able to behave like her and save someone at the cost of his own life?

Protecting a classmate against hurtful bullies was one thing, but going up against so many Villains by yourself...? It was a scary enough thought by itself.

He didn't know what went through the girl's mind or what her connection to Time Bomb was, but he hoped she would wake up. Maybe, one day, she'll become a famous hero like _The Youthful Heroine_: Recovery Girl and travel around the world healing people.

But now that same girl was in front of him two years later, trembling on the ground and having a panic attack while their homeroom teacher tried to calm her down. It was strange seeing such a scary, gruff man acting so… _gentle _as he tried to calmly bring her back to reality. Midoriya noticed the girl was quite meek herself, even with the way she kept standing up to Bakugou, and it became even more noticeable when she distanced herself when Midoriya tried asking her about the incident.

It had occurred to him that she might be uncomfortable with the subject, which was why Midoriya had such trouble asking about it, but it had never occurred to him that she would completely shut down and have a panic attack if a situation became too much for her. He just wanted to confirm his suspicions so he could tell her how amazing he thought she was, of how brave she had been, and that he was happy they could be classmates at the same school. He never imagined… _this_.

Even Kirishima froze upon seeing the scene take place, but at least he made a move forward to try and help before Aizawa cut in and forced him to stand back. Midoriya remained still in his chair, watching with both fear and worry as Thorn completely shut down. She had defended him twice, facing Bakugou's wrath, but the memories of her abusers must have rushed back to her.

She had seemed a little bit reclusive, but her behavior now made sense.

After a few minutes Aizawa finally managed to get the girl to regulate her breathing to a certain point, even coaxing her into speaking, and though she was still visibly shaken she at least had been brought back to reality.

Midoriya felt awful, wondering if him asking her about the incident was part of the reason why she freaked out as bad as she did. Once everything had calmed down a little and the girl had a decent grasp of her senses, Aizawa helped Thorn to her feet. She still looked a bit distant- like not all of her had returned- and honestly, if he had been put through what she had at such a young age… he's not sure if he'd be any better. That Sludge Villain was nothing compared to the Chimera Kidnappings.

According to police reports the bodies of the dead children remained in the same room that the living ones had resided in. That meant… Thorn had most likely seen those bodies. She had to live with them, pondering her fate, for days on end until she was rescued.

And with Bakugou acting in the villainous way he does must have reminded her of that.

It did leave Midoriya to wonder- what made her decide to enter U.A? A traumatizing incident like that would surely leave any normal person wanting to avoid Villains in any way possible. Did she just want to help people that badly?

The admiration he felt back then when he first read the news article returned, but this time… it was accompanied with a sadness. A sympathy, for it was probably that day that made the girl decide her rocky path.

…

I wasn't quite sure what compelled me to do it, especially since Aizawa had scared me so much earlier, but when he offered his arm to help me stand up I didn't argue. I accepted the gesture in my half-dazed state and struggled to stand. The world spun around me and my legs nearly gave out, but regardless of that leaving me temporarily immobile the teacher did not appear annoyed.

Instead his expression remained blank, waiting patiently until I had recovered enough to start walking. It was a slow-pace trek out of the classroom, Aizawa talking quietly and issuing orders such as "one step at a time" and "don't move too fast". I didn't even register the fact that there were still other students in the classroom, such as Midoriya and Kirishima, as I was only partially aware of my surroundings.

Everything had built up and exploded, and now all I could do was lifelessly follow Aizawa's directions and try to distract myself by focusing on his voice and the patterns on the floor as we walked. A part of me wondered where we were going; I couldn't recall if he had told me or not.

"We'll contact a relative if necessary," I heard him say at one point after he glared at a couple of curious students to send them scampering away, "so don't worry. Just rest once we get to the infirmary."

Oh. Infirmary… wait. Relative? Contact?

"Sister…" I managed to say, a pounding in my skull as I tried to say the words. "Sister is… outside…"

Aizawa looked down at me, an eyebrow raised, but didn't comment. He turned his head and looked forward, not speaking for a few steps. "Protective, huh? Did she walk you to the gate this morning?"

I nodded, eyes half-lidded as exhaustion seeped into my bones. A part of me wanted to sleep, all those days of not sleeping properly finally catching up to me, but I knew that if I did then something horrible would happen. I didn't want to see that face again… or watch the lights fade out… or recall that old woman's horrible smile.

"I'll go get her, then. I'll need to fetch a visitor's pass, but…" He came to a stop in front of a door. He looked down at me one more time before knocking on the door and sliding it open, revealing a larger-than-normal infirmary. It looked more like a proper hospital room. "Here. This is Recovery Girl's office."

A small elderly lady looked up from her spot at her desk, turning around and staring at us in surprise. Her lips parted and she spoke, but I was unable to translate what she said. She gestured with her hand and we moved forward, Aizawa pulling his arm away as I sat down on one of the infirmary beds. He spoke to Recovery Girl in Japanese, then turned back to me and said in English, "I'll return shortly. Don't overdo it."

Don't… overdo it, huh?

I leaned down, gripping my wrists, and lowered my head with closed eyes. I could feel Recovery Girl wrapping a blood pressure monitor around my bicep, the elderly woman taking my vitals and writing results on a small sheet of paper. She spoke again, but I didn't understand. Eventually she had me lie down on the bed, though I wasn't really sure why.

Did she want me to sleep? Or did she want me to- _oh_. Recovery Girl started rolling up my blazer and shirt sleeve on my right arm, a syringe in her hand. A strange expression crossed her face when she saw the ace wrap, but knowing I couldn't understand what she was saying she didn't ask about it. I closed my eyes and tried not to focus on the needle as she poked the inside of my elbow with it.

…

Aizawa had just closed the door to the infirmary when a familiar voice shouted from the end of the hallway. Inhaling deeply and closing his eyes, the tired adult let out a heavy sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets, turning around to look as Present Mic came rushing down the hallway. "Eraser~! There's something I need to show you!"

"...What?"

Present Mic stopped in front of him, practically bouncing on his feet, a huge grin spread across his face. "Yeah~! It'll be great, I promise! You'll love it! Or, at least, really _really _like it, anyway! Come on, we need to go-" He reached out to grab his friend's arm, but paused when he took notice of where they were standing. His green eyes latched onto the door and he frowned, looking back at his friend with concern. "Are you alright? You not feeling well, Eraser?"

Aizawa just stared at Present Mic with tired eyes. "I'm fine. One of my students had a panic attack right before the bell rang and I had to help her here. I was about to get a pass from the main office so I could fetch her sister."

"...Eh?" Present Mic looked even more alarmed. Aizawa narrowed his eyes at this, suddenly suspicious of his friend's behavior. "S-Sister? Which student?"

"...Thorn Irene." Aizawa would have asked the child the name of her sibling, but it would not be wise to aggravate her further. He watched as Present Mic tensed, gaze flickering to the infirmary door. "What are you hiding?"

"N-Nothing!" The blond stammered, "I just… um. Anyway!" He raised his hands up dramatically, striking poses more than usual. "Let's-go-get-that-pass! The thing I want to show you is at the gate anyway~! Two birds with one stone, yeah~!?Let's go~ Eraser~!"

The entire walk to the office Aizawa was burning holes into the back of Present Mic's skull, silently demanding to know his secrets. Did he know the child and the guardian? If so, how? Thorn Irene was a transfer student all the way from America; unless he had a connection there then there's no way he can…

Suddenly a thought hit the tired professional Hero.

_Thorn…_

It hadn't even crossed his mind that there could be a possible connection; it had been over ten years since the two last saw that person. Not to mention that fact that the girl absolutely _despised _her family, wanting nothing to do with them. But the similarities were definitely there: the pointed ears, the fangs… the last name. He wouldn't lie when he said the girl didn't remind him of her when he first saw her in his classroom.

But what would have changed? Many things, he presumed, as it _had _been a long time. Anything could happen in the span of a few months, nonetheless over an entire decade. Most of the school staff, teachers mainly, were aware of Thorn Irene's encounter with Villans two years ago, her fragile mental state, _and_ of her connection to All Might. Present Mic had once mentioned that the person from their past had become a Hero, but he never explicitly stated which one she was.

An American female Hero _had _come to Japan not too long ago…

Aizawa was jumping to conclusions. There was not yet any proof leading to the sister being the girl he and Present Mic had befriended back when they were children. It was irrational to assume it was her based on a few measly similarities. He needed confirmation.

And so he followed Present Mic to the main office, collecting a pass, and was about to look through Thorn Irene's files for family member names when he was suddenly dragged away from the cabinets and computer area. The tired adult threatened to hurt the eccentric blond if he didn't let go of his arm.

...

Maria was in a bit of a downer mood on her way to the school. Aside from recalling her unpleasant past, she didn't have a visitor's pass to enter the school and as such she had to wait outside the gate for Irene. Anxiety eating away at her little by little, Maria pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced to see if she had gotten a response yet.

Worried about Irene and her mental state she had messaged her sister earlier, asking about her first day, but she still hasn't gotten a response. It was odd, especially since Irene tried her darndest to respond instantly upon receiving a message. _It was only the first day- nothing bad should have happened… right?_

Leaning against the wall next to the gate, Maria tapped her foot impatiently and crossed her arms. She thought about the school's security system- about how fucking stupid it was that Heroes didn't have access to the school building. What if a Villain tried to attack and actually managed to infiltrate their massive security system? Maria needed to be there in order to protect Irene and whatever other innocents there are.

_Even with the teachers there being pro Heroes… I'd feel better knowing I would be able to help, too. Damn it._

If any Villains did manage to get through they would have to be extremely powerful and/or intelligent. Letting out a heavy breath, Maria jolted when she felt something brush against her leg. Looking down, she was surprised to see a gorgeous tabby on the ground acting incredibly cute with his green eyes and little pink nose.

_Oh my._

Kneeling down, Maria outstretched a hand and began to pet the adorable creature. "Why, _hello _handsome. You come here often?" Sitting down, she allowed the tabby to crawl into her lap and she began to mutter cutesy words to the cat as the school bell rang. Students began to walk out from the building and through the gate, eying her strangely and wondering what exactly a woman was doing there before continuing on her way.

About two minutes later she had picked the cat up and was cradling it to her chest, scratching behind its ears and grinning widely as it purred blissfully.

"Aw, you're just the sweetest, aren't you…?"

She was so distracted and entranced by the cat that while her ears picked up on a piercing voice, she paid no attention to it. "She's this way, I promise~! How do I know- ah, just see!"

From around the corner came running Present Mic, dragging by the arm a begrudging Aizawa. He had given up on protesting against being dragged, knowing full well that there wouldn't be any stopping him, so he had let it happen. The blond finally started to slow down into a walk, loosening his hold on his friend's sleeve, and Aizawa peered around the area in search of anyone who could pass as the older sibling of a teenage student.

What he saw- _who he saw_\- had him stop right in his tracks.

Tall and slender, freckles adorning her high cheekbones, and her hazel green eyes glittering with pure joy; he stood there stunned. Her long auburn hair had been cut short and her smile- something that was once rarely seen- was spread across her lips as she booped noses with...

_A cat. _A beautiful feline specimen with emerald eyes and golden fur.

Present Mic took that chance to glance at his dark-haired friend, observing his reaction with a bittersweet smile. He had been waiting a long time for this moment- for the three of them to be reunited again- but it did little to remove the ache in his chest. He was glad to see the slight change of expression on Aizawa's face, but he also wasn't quite sure if it was because of the woman or because of the cat.

It was a strange friendship the three had formed so many years ago; the Hero classes in their school had all taken a trip overseas. It was only by Present Mic's determination to befriend Maria, as well as her strange way to say thank you, that led to them being friends. Mic often rambled a lot to Aizawa- but he also took time to tell him about Maria and the things she'd write in the emails.

He'd always listen, even if he could get annoyed sometimes by Mic's nature, because even if he didn't necessarily act it Aizawa _did _care- despite how hard he tried not to after Shirakumo. Aizawa cared both about Mic's life and about the friend he made overseas. The man was too lazy and too tired to write back to her, of course, for he expected them to not meet again, but it didn't stop him from listening when Mic spoke about the girl.

But now… here she was in front of them and Maria wasn't a girl anymore. The one who had risked her life trying to save them, the one whom they had befriended during their time in America, the one that shared Present Mic's friends' love of cats… was now a woman.

And she had changed so much over the years.

Mic, noticing with barely concealed amusement, saw how his best friend was just blatantly staring at the cat. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "Eyyyyy~ Spark Hero! I've got someone for ya to see!"

His loud voice greatly disturbed the animal she had been cuddling with, it's fur bristling up as the cat began to hiss at the blond. Both Aizawa and Maria looked annoyed with the blond for disturbing the small creature. "Mic…" Maria began, voice turning sickly sweet as a deadly smile crossed her lips, "if you start yelling out "Spark Hero" when I'm not in costume then there's _no point _in me having a _mask_."

From the side Present Mic could feel a dark glare boring into skull. He flinched and took a nervous step back, giving a sheepish grin as he brought a hand up to the back of his head. "Y-Yeah… sorry, sorry!" It wasn't the first time he was the victim of such glares, but it was still incredibly terrifying. He remembered fondly that Maria often made that expression when he called her "pretty lady" back in the day.

For even though Maria wasn't very voluptuous like most women she was still quite a beauty.

"Also," Maria added with a tilt of her head, her hazel green eyes looking particularly dangerous as she glared up at him from her spot on the ground, "if you make this cat run off… I will _spark _your sunglasses."

Present Mic let out an awkward laugh. Maria wasn't kidding and he knew from personal experience that Maria would do it _while _he was still wearing them. "I've missed you, too, Maria-Chan~! A-Anyway, um, Eraser! Why don't you do the honors!? Y-You actually have business with her, so… yeah! I have some paperwork I need to fill out in the meantime! I just wanted to reunite you guys! Later~!"

With that the blond took off, dashing back into the building and leaving the two alone. Maria stood, cradling the cat close to her chest and calming it down with each stroke of its fur, and she looked at Aizawa curiously and in confusion. She noticed that most of the students had left the building by now, so she was still waiting on her sister. "Business?"

Aizawa removed his gaze from Present Mic's departure and faced Maria. She looked rather feline-esque herself with the fangs and pointed down-turned ears, and the way she cocked her head and was staring at him expectantly for an answer didn't help much either. Face falling back into its neutral blank state, he held out the pass he had taken from the main office. "To get you through the gate. Your sister is Thorn Irene, correct?"

Thinking on it, the name "Irene" felt familiar now that he knew about the connection to Maria. Where had it been mentioned before?

Maria frowned and took the pass, carefully balancing the cat with one arm as its head rested on her left shoulder. "Yeah… thanks. What happened to her? Is everything okay?" Her head shot up and her expression hardened, leaving her to look more like the girl he remembered. "What happened?"

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned around and gestured with his head towards the huge building in front of them. "Follow me. I'll explain on the way."

…

Recovery Girl finally let me sit up after what felt like ages. I had calmed down enough that my brain could finally start translating again and now when she spoke I understood what she was saying. She let me reach into my bag and I started munching on some of my snacks, but not before she made me swallow a few pills.

"Have you ever thought about seeing a specialist about this?" She asked after I had gotten halfway through a bag of jerky. Apparently all of the staff members had been told about my situation involving the incident- for that was mentioned in the official recommendation- but none of them knew about my lack of a specialist until now. "If Eraserhead wasn't trained to help calm down frantic citizens he most likely wouldn't have been able to help you. You need to see someone about this."

I slowed down my chewing upon hearing those words, lowering my head and feeling ashamed at my weakness. It's not that I didn't _want _to see a psychotherapist or whatever other professional was out there that could help, it's just that I knew I wouldn't be able to bring myself to talk about anything. Answering questions was… painful, but to try remembering and talking about what actually _happened _aside from the obvious was… unfathomable.

I hadn't slept properly in two years because of that incident. The bags under my eyes are a huge indicator of that. There's no way I could open up to a stranger. My mother tried to get me to do it once and, like I said a while back, it didn't end well for either of us. Stubbornness was unfortunately an awful trait that ran in my family.

Recovery Girl spun her chair around to face me, looking at me with a sad expression on her face. "I know it's scary… but if you want to be a Hero you're going to have to get past this. I've come across a Villain here and there, and I'm a doctor. You need to be able to move in a crisis."

I know. I _know _that. Bakugou had just added fuel to the fire that had been building all day and created this massive explosion. Recovery Girl was right, but… talking about it wouldn't help much anyway, would it? I feel like it would just make it worse.

I don't want to relive it. I don't want to remember the blood and vomit, or the whimpering of children, or the smell of decaying-

Tears started to well up in my eyes and I nearly choked on my jerky as a lump formed in the back of my throat. No. I don't care what people say; I'm not seeing anyone about this. I can't even think about it without… hurting. How am I supposed to talk about it? I refuse.

I'll be fine on my own.

A few more minutes passed and I finished the bag I was eating out of. I was currently in the process of opening another when the door to the infirmary suddenly slammed open. With a startled shriek and jolt I dropped the bag, nearly falling out of the bed. Maria stood there with wide eyes, Aizawa right behind her. "Irene!"

I had barely looked up in time to see Maria. The woman had dashed over so quick there wasn't much time for me to speak. She stopped in front of me, hands on my shoulders as she leaned down closer to my height.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt- _fuck_, you're thin again! I'm fattening you up when we get home. How are you feeling?"

"I-I'm okay." I stammered, surprised by her reaction and the instant relief that washed over my being upon seeing her. My eyes flickered from Maria to the teacher leaning against the doorframe, greatly confused as to why Aizawa was holding a cat. He certainly didn't have one earlier. I looked back at Maria. "I, um… just… freaked out a little, is all."

"Freaked out?" Maria echoed, narrowing her eyes. "You had a fucking panic attack!"

"I-It's okay," I told her quietly, "It's... over now, so…"

"So? Why didn't you message me if you were feeling bad? I'm _here_ for you; you can talk to me, Irene." Though her tone started out angry, it softened the longer she spoke. Maria leaned forward, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as she pulled me into her chest. "You're not alone in this world… so stop trying to keep everything to yourself."

My eyes began to sting. Maria's words hit me hard, but even if I wanted to I doubted I'd be able to speak about my fear. I didn't want to be a burden. I didn't want to worry her. I didn't want to talk about anything that had went down during the incident. Perhaps it was foolish for me to still be upset over it, but the memories are still there and it's still all so _vivid._

I hated thinking about it or being asked about it, and all I wanted to do was bury those memories into a deep black abyss and never have to deal with them. I survived and that's what matters… right?

It's not like it was my first panic attack; I have plenty at night when I'm lying in bed. Most of my nightmares end up _causing _me to wake up and freak out, so I'm often awake in the middle of the night. Even if Aizawa would have been unable to help me I would still have found some way to snap myself out of it. I didn't need a specialist to help me; I didn't _need _to talk about what happened to anyone.

I was fine. I _am _fine. And I will still _be _fine in the future.

"I'm sorry," I murmured into Maria's shoulder, apologizing for multiple things. I wanted to reach out and hug her back, but at the moment I felt as though I didn't deserve the embrace. I didn't deserve the comfort. I had caused her to worry and made myself a nuisance once more. Maria squeezed me tightly for a few seconds before pulling away, sighing and giving me a tired smile. I met her gaze, heart heavy with guilt.

Despite my better judgment I went and tried to stand up for Midoriya, but in the end I only made things worse. Bakugou reacted poorly, Aizawa and Recovery Girl both had to help me, and Maria had been sent into "guardian" mode.

"Can you walk?" Maria asked, standing. I nodded at her words, picking up the bag I had dropped and stuffing it into my blazer pocket. Grabbing my schoolbag, I cradled it in my arms and slid off the bed. She placed a hand on my upper back gently. "Good. We'll head home and get you something to eat. Okay?"

I nodded in agreement. Maria then turned towards Recovery Girl, offering a small smile.

"Thanks for watching over her."

"It's alright, dearie." Recover Girl responded, spinning back around in her chair to face her desk. Picking up a few papers, she neatly sorted them and held them out to Maria. "If her attacks get any worse I suggest having her see a specialist. It would be detrimental to leave it as is."

Right. Because mother didn't already try to go that route… and failed. I pointedly looked away when I felt Maria's gaze on me, the woman all too aware about what had happened so long ago.

_I'm not telling my life story to a freaking stranger, _I thought, biting down on my bottom lip.

"Of course." Maria told Recovery Girl, taking the papers that were being handed out to her. "I'll keep that in mind."

_Wait, what? Is she actually going to make me go to another session?_

A hand landing on my head and ruffling my hair caused me to jolt, and I looked up at my sister in confusion. What was she planning? She knows I won't talk about it; it would be a waste of money to make me go talk to some random person. Maria grabbed my arm and started to walk, heading towards the doorway where my homeroom teacher was still standing.

"Hey~ Shōta!" Aw, crap. It _was_ him. Aizawa looked up from the cat he was cuddling with to look down at Maria. In the back of the room Recovery Girl made a strange noise- it was like a wheeze and laugh combined into a very weird snort of surprise. I bet it was because she wasn't expecting Maria to call him by his first name. "Ah, Eraser right now, isn't it? Sorry… I… I'm glad I got to see you again."

Maria stiffened underneath his blank stare, and I watched with fascination as her pale cheeks colored pink. Was she feeling alright?

Aizawa's fingers ran along the cat's spine gently, feeling the soft fur against his hand. His facial expression didn't change, but it was clear to anyone that he was thinking. Maria looked… nervous- reminding me of the day she had left the house to meet him, before all her hopes were cruelly dashed away by that thorn Villain. But now, face-to-face, Maria looked many times more anxious than she had back then.

When the sleep-deprived mess of my homeroom teacher finally spoke up, it was with his usual dull tone. "...Here; I have paperwork to take care of." He handed the cat to Maria, who took it with an expression resembling that of disappointment. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he started to walk off and head into the hallway- but not before turning his head and muttering under his breath, "It was good seeing you again, too."

Her hazel eyes lit up and she watched him walk away. I stared at Maria curiously, wondering what was going through her mind at that moment. It was rare seeing her so happy; did she really like Aizawa that much? I mean, I guess he isn't all scary… seeing how he helped me snap out of my panic and everything…

Bidding adieu to Recovery Girl, Maria and I headed out of the school. As I swapped my shoes out and stepped onto the sidewalk, Maria let out a breath and slumped her shoulders. "Oh, mother of Thor…"

I blinked, tilting my head with furrowed brows. "Frig?"

"Fjörgyn." Maria corrected, nose pressed against the cat's forehead, the young woman slowly calming down after that encounter. "Oh… fucking hell." She came to a stop and I nearly slammed into her back. Maria hung her head back, cringing at herself. "Why did I do that? Why did I act like that? What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"What do you mean?" I asked as we walked through the gate, not understanding. Most of my jitters were gone now, so I was able to hug my partially scorched bag to my chest and hide the burn marks without fear. My thoughts were temporarily removed from the events that happened today, my attention now focused solely on Maria and the cat she had randomly appeared with. "You didn't do anything wrong…"

The golden tabby pressed its nose into the curve of Maria's neck, as if trying to comfort her. My sister seemed to relax a little upon that action and looked down at me with a strange face. "...Don't worry about it, short-stop. I'll tell you all about it when you're older. For now let's just- let's just go home. Tell me everything that happened later, okay?"

"O-Okay…" I answered hesitantly, wondering if she meant what led up to the panic attack or if she was going to try and be my therapist instead of actually hiring a specialist like Recovery Girl and mother both want. "Um, I have a question though?" Maria stopped walking and looked down at me. I lowered my head and stared at the cat in her arms. "Are we keeping the cat?"

"...Yes."

"W-Wait, seriously!?" Where did she even get it from? "A-Are you sure?"

I mean, I wouldn't be _against _having another cat in the house...

"Of course!" Maria declared, composure mostly regained now. She stepped closer, reaching her free hand out and scratching under the tabby's chin. "He's a little gentleman~ aren't you love?" The cat merely purred in response. A little dumbfounded by the situation and everything that's happening today, I blinked. Then, with a small surge of excitement rushing through me, I asked,

"Can I name him, then?"

"Is it going to be a _Disney _reference?" Maria inquired, staring at me suspiciously. I opened my mouth to respond, only to falter and give a timid, sheepish smile.

Most of the previous cats mother had taken in had either been dark or beige in color, and a lot of them were named after characters from _Lion King_. I was a very sad sap of a _Disney _fan and… well, my knowledge of their movies and the original stories behind them was something I was rather proud of.

Raising my right hand, I held my index finger in the air and pointed at her. "Um… no?"

"Then yes."

I wasn't sure how to react for a moment, but a small smile formed on my face and I hugged the schoolbag to my chest, resisting the urge to bounce back-and-forth on my heels. "Aww, this is gonna be great..." I looked at the cat, humming to myself and trying to think of a name. "Not _Disney_… ah, this will take a while… crap.

…

In the end we settled for the name "Elias". It was majestic and the name of a gentleman, and it _also _wasn't based off of something relating to _Disney_. Maria, thankfully, seemed so distracted by whatever it was that had been making her flustered that she seemed to have not noticed anything unusual about my bag. Quickly kicking off my shoes, I made my way to the bedroom in as inconspicuous a way that I could.

I wasn't sure if Maria was waiting to talk to me about what happened today, but I was going to try to postpone it for as long as possible. I didn't want to tell her about how Bakugou attacked me today, or how he threatened me in front of the class and was the reason I had broken down… I didn't want to tell her about how I ran multiple times and made one of her oldest friends angry.

I didn't want to see the way her expression would change, ranging from concern, to anger, to… disappointment. That was the worst one.

Removing my blazer, I quickly changed into pajamas. Then I climbed onto my bed and curled into a ball under the blankets, staring into nothing with half-lidded eyes. I was given so much help to get into U.A, I worked so hard learning to speak, write, and even read most of the language, and I did my best trying to pass the written exam. I came all the way from America to Japan to learn how to be a Hero.

And I did all that while losing the people I thought were my friends. My parents went into overprotective mode and I only caused more trouble for them in an attempt to avoid being a burden by spending every day in my room practicing, studying, and reading up on all sorts of Heroes.

I thought I could do it. I believed I would be able to get through three years of High School without having to deal with anybody. Without having to speak to them.

But I was wrong.

All Might had gone out of his way to recommend me to the school so I would be able to get in, and yet I had already done so many things wrong today. Aizawa was right; I _wanted _to protect people. I wanted to keep them safe from harm and heal them when things go south, but I was so scared of being abandoned again that I refused to let myself get close to anyone that isn't family. I was so terrified of being hurt again or seeing someone else get hurt that I kept moving to defend Midoriya against my better judgment.

And all those emotions from the stress and anxiety built up… and my teacher- the same one who had lectured me multiple times already- had to help me snap out of it.

Who am I kidding? I can't be a Hero that helps people… I can't even help myself.

Maria deserved better than me. All Might saved the wrong person.

I'm a mistake.

**Happy New Year! Talk about that 20/20 vision, huh? Haha. Welp, Read and Review! :3 **


	6. Starting Line

_"Clutching my cure, I tightly lock the door; I try to catch my breath again."_

I suppose somewhere in the middle of all my crying I must have fallen asleep. It wasn't that surprising, given how exhausted I was. I groaned as I drifted into consciousness, rolling onto my back. I knew I should get up and move around, but I just didn't have the motivation to do so. Groggily opening my eyes, I found myself staring at the stuffed All Might doll laying near the wall.

Reaching a hand out, I carefully picked the doll up and rolled onto my side, cradling it to my chest as I buried my face back into my pillow. _I can't be a Hero… not as I am right now. _I'm still too haunted by my past to be of any real help to anyone. How is one supposed to help when one is so afraid of their own shadow?

Maria wasn't afraid. Time Bomb's a Hero to hundreds of people- maybe even thousands. All Might is a Hero to everyone.

I don't want to be scared. I don't want to keep remembering.

But how can I start moving forward? What can I do to get stronger?

_Kirishima. Midoriya. _Despite my attempts to actively avoid them or not talk to them, I always end up getting put in the same situation over and over again. I also have to sit between them in class and they both seem to like conversation. Kirishima especially made it clear that he wasn't going to leave me alone very easily._ Even if it's just a little bit… I guess I can try to be friendlier._

All I have to do is make sure that I don't end up getting emotionally attached. But would they even still be willing to talk to me after today?

How can I even manage to keep a gap between me and other people if I start being friendly? I haven't the slightest idea as to how that works. A part of me wanted to call All Might and ask him for advice, but at the same time I knew it wouldn't do any good. I would probably only end up angering him. He could be in the middle of a fight right now or something, not to mention the fact that the number was only given to me for getting me into U.A. I wouldn't even know how to talk to him; Time Bomb was always the one who spoke into the phone.

If I called him now it would be rude and selfish of me, a-and… I really didn't want to make a fool of myself and end up upsetting him.

So instead of doing any of that I settled for remaining curled up in my bed, wondering if asking Maria was an option. She did act bothered about the fact that I didn't find the need to make friends. _She said one or two people… but what if I end up choosing the wrong ones again? _I tried not to think about it and squeezed my eyes shut, attempting to go back to sleep.

It didn't work.

Aside from my own rampaging thoughts, there was also a randomly loud knock on my bedroom door. "Irene?" Hearing the door creak open I thought about moving, but decided not to. "Still asleep? Hey…"

A hand running lightly back-and-forth on my arm made me open my eyes, and I moved to look at Maria. Not only did she look rather tired herself, she also looked worried.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been asleep since we got home. Does your head hurt?"

I gave a lazy shrug in response, not really wishing to answer that question. I felt fine for the most part, but I also felt extremely drained. The energy that had been restored during my time napping did little for my mood right now, and I was still rather shaken from all the events today. It was a strange feeling, having so much built up energy and feeling the need to do something… yet somehow still feeling completely exhausted and lacking the motivation to do anything.

It's a weird thing to have one Quirk that can literally kill you if you overuse it, but also having another Quirk that gives you more durability and energy than a normal person.

And then there's you. The person who owns those Quirks.

"I'm okay." I murmured, sitting up. "I'm just a bit dizzy."

Maria frowned and for the first time, now that she wasn't distracted, _really _looked at me. "Irene… What happened today?"

Another shrug. I moved until my legs were dangling off the edge of the bed, the All Might doll held gingerly in my lap. "I dunno. I wasn't really thinking." I was scared. I didn't want someone to get hurt. I didn't want to _be _hurt. Not sure whether to be ashamed for my actions or disappointed in myself for upsetting Maria, I lowered my head with misty eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Maria's eyebrows furrowed, the woman looking like she wanted to scold me further. Letting out a heavy sigh, she sat down beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to her. "Why didn't you respond to my text?"

I leaned against her, head resting on her chest. There was this emptiness inside of me, but at the same time there was the barest trace of warmth. My voice cracked a little as I responded to her question. I've been craving a hug all day. I wanted one earlier, too, but Aizawa and Recovery Girl were there and I felt like I didn't deserve it. "I… I didn't want to lie."

She looked surprised. "About what?"

I didn't answer straight away. Wrapping my arms around her whilst still holding onto the All Might doll, I closed my eyes and bit down on my trembling bottom lip. I shook my head. "Everything? Today was… Today was just really bad." I hoped that tomorrow was better. "A lot happened."

"Like what?"

Bakugou. Aizawa. Bakugou. Midoriya, Sero, and Kirishima. Bakugou. The _talk _with Midoriya. Aizawa. The panic attack.

"A lot of things." I settled on, not wanting to go into detail. I hid my face in her shoulder. "It's just a mess…" Fingers ran through my hair, gentle and comforting, and desperate to change the topic of the conversation I asked, "How was your day? Did patrol go well?"

Maria noticed my attempt to avoid explaining anything, but didn't call me out on it. "Well… there wasn't really anything that interesting today on the streets in Esuha City. All Might being back in town has a lot to do with that, irritatingly enough. Most criminals are too scared to show themselves in broad daylight now. I might ask the boss if I can switch to night patrol. I_ did_ get to see my friend today, though, which was nice. But then a chipmunk-cheeked little sister went and scared me today."

She poked my cheek with the tip of her nails. I made a face and puffed out my cheek, drawing out a chuckle from her. Though it was weak, a hint of a smile formed on my face. It wasn't as bright as I'd like, but it was still something. Guilt hit me hard again and I leaned down, hugging the All Might doll and trying to get some comfort from it. I remembered the words he said that day and managed to calm down just ever so slightly. "I'm… really sorry, Maria…"

My vision started to blur and I heard Maria make a sound. I held the doll tighter, furiously blinking away the tears and strangling the sob building up in the back of my throat. Everything just reminds me of that day. My reasons of avoidance, my reasons to go to U.A, the reasons why I act out, just… everything. Every little thought links back somehow. It's suffocating.

It's like I'm drowning, desperately kicking and trying to reach the surface, but I can't break through and get the air I need. There's just too much water and too many sharks. People are scary. Whether they be Villains or not… it's hard to trust them.

When I needed them most the people I was with, the people I considered friends, just abandoned me. They left me to fall victim to a madwoman and her coworkers.

Something wet hit my hand and it took me a moment to realize I was crying. Lips curling back and teeth grinding together, I choked back the sob and squeezed my eyes tightly shut, holding the doll tightly. I felt Maria's arm around me again, my sister holding me close. "I-I-I don't know _how_…"

I don't know how to talk about my feelings. I don't know how to trust. I don't know how to deal with people. I don't know how I'm going to become a Hero.

And most of all… I don't know how she expects me to make a friend when the people I had believed to_ be _my friends left me all alone. If that wasn't what friendship was… then what is it? How does one know?

I wasn't sure how long Maria and I sat there on the bed, her hugging me and me trying to get the tears to stop falling. After a while, I forced myself to pull away, wiping furiously at my face and apologizing for being so emotional. Father always hated the fact I was emotional; he thought it was a sign of weakness. That people would end up walking over and using me because of it. In this case… I guess he was right; I was letting what happened to me control me.

"You don't have to apologize." Maria said, frowning. "It's alright."

I didn't particularly believe that it _was _alright, but I wasn't going to argue with her. I nodded, blinking a couple more times when the stinging wouldn't stop. I probably looked like a puffy red mess. Maria hugged me one more time before standing.

"Well, I came in to tell you dinner was done… You hungry?" She already knew the answer to that. A weak chuckle escaped and I sniffed, swallowing down the lump in the back of my throat.

"A-Always…"

…

Simply put dinner was amazing. We sat down in the livingroom and ate, watching a few movies until it got late. Eventually Maria went to bed, though it would probably be some time before she actually fell asleep due to her insomnia. As for me… I remained awake until three in the morning, passing out in the middle of rewatching _Inuyasha: The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass._

I had finished the pot of coffee I made a few hours ago and was mainly drinking water at this point, not wanting to disturb any of Maria's chances for sleep, and was snacking on ice cream when it happened. Even with all the caffeine running through me my body still had yet to recover from the massive energy drain it had taken today.

Combine that with my normal unhealthy sleep schedule everything hit me at once.

One moment I was watching the main female protagonist getting shot with her own arrow as a beautiful epic of an instrumental piece began to play while the half-demon screamed her name in horror, and the next my body felt like led and I collapsed, eyes closed as I sunk deep into sleep.

_It was so dark; I couldn't see anything. The air was cold and the floor felt wet- sticky even- and everything hurt. Stuffy and foul, the stench lingering about the room made me want to throw up. Breathing was painful, every breath sharp as my wounded ribs threatened to pierce me from inside, like needles trapped inside my torso._

_I could hear crying… voices that were muffled. "-scared…"_

_Another child._

_"M-Mommy, help me…!"_

_A light peered into the room, blinding her. Bodies… everywhere. Bloody, gory, unmoving corpses of children who had been taken apart and sewn back together. Shredded from the inside out by the foreign Quirks forced into their bodies, brains spilled across the floor and eyes popping out of their skulls. A crooked finger raised in the air, pointing at someone._

_Screaming. Bright green eyes filled with fear and puffy from crying, his voice haunting as he wailed for his mother. He was taken away._

_But then he was on the ground; lifeless, pale, broken. The golden lights on his body faded with each breath. The old woman was suddenly there, wrinkled and half-blind, covered in stains. Bloody fingers brushed against my cheek, before grabbing at my hair and yanking me forwards. "Let's try it now, then, eh? My new... and improved… Nomu."_

No! My eyes snapped open and I shot up with a heavy gasp, cold sweat beading down against the sides of my face. Without realizing I had fallen onto the floor, breath coming out in stuttered bursts, shaking and digging my fingers into the carpet flooring as I struggled to remember where I was. This is… where? The… livingroom?

Dazed eyes glanced around, taking in the surroundings. I'm… home. Safe.

I am… here.

I exhaled slowly, closing my eyes for a moment, before sitting up and resting against the side of the couch. I felt so worn, so tired. My body felt so weak and my limbs were heavy- as if they were made out of lead. It was only day one of school, but it left me so stressed. It was impossible to go without recalling all the terrible things that happened, even though I tried so desperately to forget. Just what am I supposed to do? How am I… going to face everyone in class after making such a commotion?

I'm surprised Aizawa didn't go up and expel _me _for my behavior.

I blinked and lowered my head, staring blankly at the tub of icecream on the ground. It had been knocked over when I fell down, but somehow managed to stay upright so nothing was spilled. The spoon, on the other hand, was several feet away and sticking to the carpet. _Gross… _Hands twitching, I dragged myself up onto my knees and picked up the fallen utensil, forcing my tired body to get to work. Tossing the spoon into the sink, I finished the rest of the ice cream and tossed the empty tub into the trash. Afterwards, I got to making coffee.

Hmph. While I wasn't big on sweets, I did like ice cream. It helped keep me awake most days, though I guess tonight was an exception.

_Okay… deep breaths. _I'm just in the kitchen- nothing bad is going to happen. Maria is still in the bedroom asleep, netflix had moved from playing the second movie to the fourth, meaning I had been asleep for at least three hours judging on what the main characters were doing. Normally if a movie was playing I'd be upset if I had missed any scenes with Sesshōmaru in it, but at the moment I really didn't care. _All Might…_

After spending a few minutes with my hands under near-boiling hot water, trying to wash away the haunting memory of sticky hot blood and vomit, I went to my room. Having collected the doll, I waited on the couch for the coffee maker to finish and for the clock to hit the time for Maria to wake up.

One more hour. Homeroom starts at eight twenty-five… so we leave at seven forty. Getting ready doesn't take too long.

Oh gods. Hades, why?

I had a panic attack in the middle of the classroom where everyone could see… I fought with Bakugou. _I don't want to go to U.A anymore. _I buried my face against the doll's "hair", wondering why I was allowed to exist. Everything still feels like one big nightmare. _No… I have to. I don't want to see everyone's faces, but I have to go. All Might and Maria went through so much trouble…_

And… who would heal the people who got hurt? Recovery Girl can only do so much on her own. That's why All Might acted as he did- it's why he broke protocol and gave me his number so long ago. My Quirk is rare. Necessary. Wanted. Every day people are hurt by Villains.

Hurt by those they trust.

Someone needs to heal them.

I made the decision to become a Hero when I first asked my parents if I could go to Japan. It's just a matter of whether I can get strong enough to actually do so.

Picking up the remote with a heavy sigh, I flipped through the buttons and rewound to the third movie- _Inuyasha: Swords of an Honorable Ruler. _Maria and I both loved this one. There was so much to be gained from it and, aside from all the extra Sesshōmaru content, we actually learn more about his and Inuyasha's father.

Beautiful.

I drank half of the coffee pot, finished the movie, and was in the process of searching for something else to watch when an alarm sounding suspiciously like J.A.R.V.I.S from _Iron Man _went off. Picking myself up off the couch, I turned to see Maria walk out of the room and head straight to the bathroom to shower and do her daily things.

Raising my right arm I stared at it blankly for a moment before closing my eyes. For a split second it was like I was there again- and then my eyes opened and I was back home. My arm twitched and I scowled, dropping the remote on the couch and picking up the All Might doll. I made my way to my room where I quickly got dressed into my uniform, but not before switching out the ace wrap for some thinner white cloth wrapping.

I pointedly looked at the wall as I did so, ignoring the rapid pacing of my heart.

The shower water stopped.

I pulled on my blazer and wrapped the tie around my neck. I made a face, wondering if I should ask Maria to tie it again, before shrugging and attempting to tie it myself. It ended horribly, but if I was going to be humiliated in front of my classmates for what happened earlier- er, yesterday- then why not at least look like a moron deserving of it?

The skirt was still annoying, but I'd get used to it eventually. Thankfully I gained enough weight from my constant eating that the uniform fit me again, if not being a bit tighter than usual because of just how much weight I gained. Oh well. It was better than being bones, I guess. I scowled at my reflection and tugged at my sleeves, frustrated and cold. I was still trembling from my nightmare.

Maria, now dressed and ready, went to the kitchen to pour herself some tea and eat breakfast. I went to the bathroom and did everything else that was necessary to start the day. As I walked into the kitchen with a yawn, I passed Maria and muttered, "I finished the ice cream."

"Okay." Was her response. I opened the cabinet and got out a bag of cereal, pouring myself a rather big bowl. "Don't forget the extra bags of jerky. That protein is the only thing keeping you moving after running."

I paused, eyebrows knitting together. As I took the milk out of the fridge, I looked at her and asked, "I thought that was because of my healing Quirk?"

"It is." Maria responded, munching on her mini sausage sandwiches. She swallowed and took a big gulp of her tea. "The tests say your speed burns up your calories and fat, right? That means everything else, like the protein, remain. Your muscles are still there, though they're significantly weakened due to the loss of everything else. Your body is a bit tougher, but once you run that's it. You become fragile. "

...Well then. You learn something new every day. "The teachers at U.A are all pro Heroes, right? How come you aren't teaching?" One would think she'd at least be offered a job there. Did she need a degree to teach at a Hero school despite already being a Hero herself?

Maria laughed. "Gods, no. I can't stand kids. I'd go mad if they stopped listening. You're an exception."

Oh. Yeah, that's true. Maria had little tolerance for stupidity and frankly a bunch of teenagers were as bad as it gets. "Makes sense." I'm actually kinda curious about Aizawa now. He seemed like the kind of guy who would hate kids.

Sitting down at the table, I joined my sister and we ate our food. It was difficult not thinking about what would happen once I entered the school building, but I knew I would have to face the consequences eventually. _Why does Bakugou have to be so scary? _I questioned silently, raising my bowl up and drinking the milk out of it. _If it weren't for him bullying Midoriya then I wouldn't have… well, maybe I still would have had a panic attack, but not in the middle of the classroom!_

The boy hadn't even done anything wrong. I'd understand getting mad at Sero or Kirishima, since they were the ones doing most of the bad mouthing, but Midoriya? Bakugou had tried to attack him earlier, too, on the training grounds. He called him… something, but I can't remember what. Did those two know each other from elementary school or something? Maybe they were neighbors.

"You keep sighing." Maria commented as I put my bowl in the sink. I jumped, looking at her nervously.

"I-I do?"

"Yup." She stood, crumpling the plastic her breakfast was in and tossing it in the trash. "You worried about today?"

"...Maybe…?" I didn't want to answer. Her stare broke down my defenses and I slumped over, biting down on my bottom lip. Maria could be downright intimidating when she wanted to be. "Yes… but when am I not worried?"

She nodded her head at that, humming. "True facts. You're an anxious little marshmallow."

Marshmallow? I know I'm a Hufflepuff, but… I don't think I'm that soft. I feel more like a teddy bear with claws. Not as dangerous as a real bear, but still capable to get an attitude. Attempting to defend myself and the personality I thought I had, I stated, "I can get toasty sometimes. Like… like a roasted marshmallow! I may be soft, but I can get toasty when need be!"

Maria just shook her head at me, an amused grin on her face. "Yeah, sure. Go get your shoes on then, toasty." She ruffled my hair and took off for the coat rack, grabbing her fluffy red plaid sweater and wrapping it around her. I made a face and grabbed my things, including the glasses I had forgotten on the couch, and slipped on my sneakers.

With that we took off for the school building, dread even worse than yesterday starting to swirl about inside my stomach. If I can get through today… _please_… I don't want any trouble. I held my bag close to my chest, shoulders drawn up as I tried to shrink into myself. I parted with Maria reluctantly at the gate, promising to message her this time if anything bad happens, and took a step forward. It was time to face what lies ahead.

One thing at a time. Switch your shoes, head to class before anyone else can get there, and then done. If anyone asks you about what happened you either ignore them or tell them you're okay. No one was even listening to the conversation Midoriya, Sero, Kirishima, and I were having until Bakugou exploded.

Ah. Wait. There was that guy behind me and if there was a possibility that he was listening… then doesn't that mean there could be someone else who had been, too? What if someone overheard my conversation with Midoriya and got curious? The thing that led up to Kirishima talking about the Villain incident with Bakugou…

No. Don't think about it. Just change your shoes.

The world around me seem to fade in-and-out as I walked closer to the entrance, hands trembling as I neared the lockers. Taking my shoes off I hurriedly made my way over, weaving between unfamiliar students, and trying not to shake too much or rush in fear of forgetting something or bumping into someone again.

Okay. Shoes, check. Snacks!_._

I snatched one of the bags of jerky I had in the shoe locker and quickly closed the door, stuffing the snack bag into my school bag, and whirled around to head towards the classroom. I passed some of my classmates along the way, their eyes seeming to bore into me like laser beams. I wasn't sure if I was just paranoid and was imagining it, or if they were all actually looking at me. Either way, I didn't like it.

_Nope. Not doing it. Which way to the classroom?_

Oh… there's that boy again. A few feet ahead of me, walking at a slow pace despite his long legs, was the pretty bi-colored haired boy with the scar. I really needed to learn his name; I had forgotten it after the first day. Eh, whatever. Even if he's two seats away I'm still going to be avoiding him along with everyone else.

I shuffled past him as quickly as I could, careful not to accidentally sprint to avoid activating one of my Quirks. Suddenly, I stopped.

My nerves were on edge, brain rushing with thoughts of escape and avoidance, but then I remembered what I decided this morning. I can't be a Hero if I stay as I am now. I can't trust people- _gods I can't- _but I can't nottalk to them. I have to at least try to hold conversations.

_I… I should ask for his name right now… right?_ I mean, I did bump into him yesterday and I still feel bad about that.

But it would be so random and awkward and- no. No. I'm not doing it. Maybe later. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Later. Later when I'm _not _falling apart from the embarrassment and shame of having broken down in front of the entire class. Oh gods, no, I can't ask for his name regardless! I bumped into him yesterday a-and then_ that_ happened…

Yeah. I can't.

Tightening my grip on the bag I started walking again, head hung low. Will there be a day where I… _don't _regret something? How am I supposed to survive three years here? Making my way to the classroom door, I opened it and was just about to walk into the near-empty classroom when I remembered the one guy was still behind me.

Turning my head I saw he was just a few feet away and, out of instinct, I stepped out of the way and let him enter the classroom first. He stared at me with an expression even more unreadable than Aizawa's, his icy two-colored gaze intimidating, and unable to bring myself to meet it I looked away, just gesturing awkwardly to the classroom.

Once he was inside I entered the room as well, closing the door behind me, and made my way over to where I sat…

...which was two seats in front of him. I think his locker was near mine, too, actually, so his last name must start with a "T". Trying not to feel too weird as I sat down, I pulled out my notebook and flipped it open, attempting to distract myself by drawing. The guy pressed his hands against his face, eyes closed as though he were trying to sleep.

If it weren't for the nightmares I'd probably be doing the same thing. I used to be notorious in Elementary and Middle school for sleeping in all my classes, though the teachers couldn't quite nag me about it since I still passed most of the tests. Well, except math; math homework can go burn in a fiery pit. I hated numbers. As the clock ticked by I multitasked, snacking on jerky and sketching out what soon appeared to be Zexion and a little Ienzo from _Kingdom Hearts_. After a bit I decided to include grown-up Ienzo, taking my own spin on a certain cutscene and flipping to a new page to draw it out.

When the time neared for homeroom to start and more people began to pile into the classroom, I closed my notebook and stuffed it back into my bag. I had just sat back up when a voice called out from the doorway, startling me when my name was said.

"Ne, Thorn!" Turning around, trying to place a name with a voice, I was surprised to see Kirishima running over. He almost barrelled into his seat, the boy slamming his hands on his desk and exclaiming with worried eyes, "Are you alright!? What happened after Mr. Aizawa took you away!?"

"H-Hah?"

The classroom door then opened to reveal Midoriya, whose green eyes widened upon seeing us. "Ki… Kirishima-Kun! Th-Thorn-San!" He quickly made his way over, stopping once he reached his desk. "H-How are you feeling? You f-froze up when Kacchan grabbed you and Mr. Aizawa had to…" He trailed off, too scared to finish his sentence.

I sat there in stunned silence. My mouth opened-and-closed, but words failed to come out. Those reactions were the complete opposite of what I was expecting, leaving me quiet. That quiet allowed me to pay attention to my surroundings. In the background, my hearing enabled me to be aware of the amount of footsteps in the room, mind counting each and every one, tracking how many students there were in the room, and I counted up to twenty. Adding myself, there were twenty-one… which meant a very specific blond was now here. My gaze flickered from the two boys who were speaking to me and instead focused on the bully. The sight of him made my thoughts come to a complete halt, fear of him now ingrained into my being.

The classroom felt cold, my fingers digging into my forearms as I recalled yesterday's events. Kirishima and Midoriya both saw how pale my face became, and the reason why became clear when the blond took his seat in front of Midoriya. "Bakugou." Kirishima stated in surprise, before frowning. Midoriya looked just as scared as I felt, the teen having to sit directly behind the explosive blond.

Upon hearing the redhead speak, Bakugou turned his head and glared at Kirishima, growling. "The fuck you want, Shitty Hair? Mind your own business!"

_Stop. Please stop. No more._

I flinched when Kirishima stood up out of his seat, his red eyes staring down at Bakugou angrily. "I'll mind my own business when you decide to stop attacking my new friends!" He faced the blond unfalteringly, jabbing a thumb into his own chest. "You attack Thorn or Midoriya again and you'll have to go through me! The stunts you pulled yesterday were far from manly!"

Friends?

"Eh?" Midoriya blinked, shocked that he was included in that sentence. "Me, too?"

It seemed neither of us had any idea how to react from the redhead's strong declaration. The pink-haired girl from yesterday could be heard cheering on Kirishima from the doorway, waving her arms excitedly in the air. "Yeah, you go~! Tell him like it is!"

What is with him? We barely even know each other; we _don't _even know each other. Why is he calling me a friend? We're not…

But then… why is he defending me? Why are so many people trying to protect me and Midoriya? Why was he and Midoriya acting so worried earlier?

I don't understand. People are supposed to be untrustworthy, judgmental, and uncaring. They never stand up for you, they never care if you're there or if you exist, and they most certainly never go out of their way to talk to you unless it's to benefit themselves. Th-This is weird; all these people- Kirishima, Midoriya, Hagakure, and the majority of everyone in the class…

They were all going against what I understood. Nothing they did or said made sense.

I-I can't… I can't handle it. I-I need time to process this, I-

I can't cope.

Back in America no one would stick up for me; I always had to defend myself. Even the people I thought were my friends back then did nothing about it; they just stood and watched from the sidelines. Now here- where the bully was outright violent and aggressive- complete strangers were standing up for me.

Is it because this is a Hero school? But if that's the case why is Bakugou so angry? Was it because of the sludge Villain incident Sero and Kirishima mentioned? But that should make one more timid than angry, shouldn't it? I don't understand. I promised myself to have conversations with people, not to become "friends" with a total stranger.

From the seat in front of me Sero joked, "You and Midoriya are really popular, huh?"

The green-haired boy in question gave a nervous chuckle at his words and sank low into his seat. I just sat there, watching with wide eyes, frozen in place, as Bakugou stood. His hands crackled with the sparks from barely-held-back explosions. "_Haaaah? _You wanna go, Shitty Hair? I'll kill you here and now!"

No, no, no, no, no. No fighting. Why are they fighting? Please stop fighting.

The skin of Kirishima's hands and face began to harden, resembling that of rock. "I'm not afraid of you! You're just a bully!"

From the far side of the classroom the glasses-wearing guy stood up, waving his hands around. "Both you stop this at once! What will Mr. Aizawa say if he sees this sort of behavior!?"

"Like I fucking _care_!" Bakugou shouted, preparing to lunge at Kirishima, but before either could take a step towards each other a bunch of metal alloy cloths shot out and wrapped around their arms, effectively restraining them. "AGAIN!?"

"T-Teacher!" Kirishima exclaimed, his skin softening and returning to its natural state. He looked at Aizawa in shock and with mild sheepishness, while Bakugou appeared furious. "S-Sorry…"

"Sit. Down." A tired Aizawa growled, holding onto the cloths with only one hand, the other keeping his bright yellow sleeping bag pressed against his side. "We have seven minutes until first period. Keep your mouths shut so I can take roll-call."

He released his hold on the two boys and they both sat down. Midoriya looked anxiously at Bakugou, who was silently shaking in his seat, his teeth bared and ground together, fingers digging into the edges of his chair. Kirishima scratched his cheek with his index finger, letting out a small sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn't actually going to be fighting the most aggressive- and possibly most powerful- person in class.

Homeroom didn't last very long. Within a few minutes Aizawa pulled himself out of his sleeping bag and left, and who walked in to take his place for English surprised me. I knew that a very specific, hyperactive blond adult with green eyes was going to be a teacher here… but I wasn't exactly sure of what class it would be or what he would look like in his Hero costume.

So when Hizashi Yamada dramatically entered the room, posing and somewhat dancing, I had to do a double take. He was dressed almost entirely in leather, his long blond hair spiked up, and he wore orange-lensed glasses instead of his normal red-rimmed ones. Hizashi looked like a completely different person. Which… made sense, I guess, considering he was now working as Present Mic- our teacher.

He saw me and grinned even wider than what he already was. He quickly got to work, writing on the chalkboard in a very formal grammatical version of English. Regardless, grammar was my strong suit… even if it was written in such an old way.

_The man whom I respect most is my father? That is the house in which he lived? I well remember the day on which we both met?_

No one talks like that. Seriously. Also, the sentence written incorrectly is number four. He had written: _Please tell me that all you know. _It should be: _Please tell me all that you know. _Granted there could also be a comma at the beginning, which would make it: _Please, tell me all that you know. _Either way, the words themselves would still need to be switched up.

Midoriya seemed to have noticed it as well, but a girl in the back- uh, I think her name was Yao… Yaorozu? Yaoyorozu- had been called on to answer it. Yeah. Man, that's gonna be hard to remember. I can't even pronounce it. Well, point is, she had gotten it right and Mic threw a fit when he saw how tired and bored the rest of the class was.

The next few classes went by similarly. I was so tired I didn't remember what happened in second period aside that Cementoss was the teacher, but for third and fourth we had a very… bold woman named Midnight for our teacher in Hero Art History, and another man by the name of Ectoplasm for math. My brain stopped working the moment he began to write equations on the board and I found myself threatening to doze off again.

"Ah, Thorn Irene!" My eyes snapped open and I tensed, greatly alarmed by the fact the teacher called out my name. Ectoplasm tapped the board with the chalk, looking at me expectantly. "Care to answer this question?"

"Uh…" Crap. Crap. How do I solve that? Geometry sailed right over my head.

"What do we call the formula one would use to solve it?" He then asked, turning around fully now so his front was facing the class. That question he wrote on the board… had an isosceles triangle, I think? Two sides had numbers and letters on it, so I'm assuming it would be multiplication. But then how would you even it out? "Miss Thorn?"

"I…"

"Yes?"

I could feel all the eyes of the other students on me. My hands started to shake and I laced my fingers tightly together, scared of being wrong and for having been called out. I hated when teachers did that. "I..." Think, think, think! The classroom was so silent it was suffocating. I could hear my own heart pounding in my ears. I stared at the problem, trying to understand it, but my brain couldn't compute the numbers. "I-I don't…"

Ectoplasm waited for a moment and then sighed, going on to explain _how _to solve the problem. I sunk further down into my desk, heart dropping into my stomach and churning uncomfortably as I became all too aware of how incompetent I was. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kirishima staring at me, an encouraging grin on his face as he gave a small thumbs up. Placing the palm of my hand over my mouth, I tried to tune out the world and my own insecurity and focused on taking notesto try to make sense of what the teacher was saying.

It didn't work very well. I found myself becoming more lost and eventually I became so frustrated that my mind stopped translating anything Ectoplasm was saying. Midoriya's muttering went in one ear and out the other, and what I could hear of the other students was nothing more than foreign gibberish. I was lost. Trapped. Stuck in a world with a language I could barely read, nonetheless speak confidently.

After what felt like an eternity the bell finally rang and Ectoplasm looked up. "Lunch!"

As I packed my notebooks into my school bag, a good three-quarters of the class shot up out of their seats and headed to the doorway in a fashion that made it seem like they had been starving. It was a bit humorous, but also a little nostalgic as it reminded me of how I used to behave in Middle School. Kirishima and Midoriya being two of the people who had ran out, I was alone save for a few people who were still getting their things together. I felt a little relieved at their absence, as that meant I would finally be able to have some time where I wouldn't have to socialize.

Checking my school blazer to make sure I still had the money Maria gave me, I stood and kept my hand in my pocket to reassure myself that the yen dollar bills wouldn't randomly disappear on me. Awkwardly waiting for the last people to leave, I took after them and followed them to the cafeteria from a distance. I stuck close to the wall when I saw more people gather, and started to ponder if it would be better to just skip lunch and eat the snacks I had on me instead.

Where would I even be able to sit without being stuck next to someone? There were so many students and they all looked so chatty...

I guess it was true that the majority of the departments share the same lunch. _Forget the students; this place is huge… _The cafeteria alone looked around the size of a football field. I completely understand how Okumura Rin felt when he entered True Cross Academy for the first time. Still… I wanted to avoid being around a full table. If I could just find an isolated corner after I get my lunch that would be perfect. I could use some peace and quiet.

I needed to recharge in whatever way possible, and being around so many people was really draining me. I wasn't used to talking or being spoken to so constantly anymore; I've grown accustomed to hiding in quiet places. The only disturbances I was used to was when mother came in to tell me dinner was ready or- nowadays- Maria checking up on me every now-and-then.

As I entered the lunch line I kept mostly to myself, eyes darting around nervously as they took in all the different types of students. I recognized a few from my class, but in this horde of human beings it was difficult trying to pinpoint them all. I think I saw Midoriya at one point, standing and talking with that bubbly brunette girl and the glasses-wearing guy, but he quickly vanished into the crowd.

After about three minutes I was finally able to pick up a lunch tray and choose what food I was going to order. Approaching Lunch Rush I awkwardly paid for the very large meal, stammering out a small "thank you" before quickly walking off. I felt bad having to eat so much and spending so much money to do so, and tried to remind myself that Maria told me that everything was fine. It wasn't as if I chose my Quirks.

Now, pretending I wasn't bothered by that, I needed to find somewhere quiet. Where was a good place to sit?

Literally _everywhere _appeared to be taken by groups of either three-to-five. _Maybe I should hunt down Midoriya and Kirishima after all… _No.I shut that idea down as fast as it came.

That would be too much on the track of making friends. I will have… conversations… but that is it. I do not like the idea of sitting next to a stranger, especially since you could never know what could be going through someone's mind, but it was better than sitting next to someone who wouldn't leave you alone. I still can't get over what Kirishima said earlier- calling me and Midoriya _friends_.

We're not. We don't even know each other; how in the world did he come up with the conclusion that he, Midoriya, and I were buddies? Was it because we sit next to each other in class? Or was it just because we all seemed to have an… _aversion _towards Bakugou's behavior? There has to be a reason. An ulterior motive.

_There's no reason for him to defend us. _Being at a school for Heroes is not an excuse; with an explosive, villainous student like Bakugou and a terrifying figure like Endeavor as the number two Hero a person learning to protect or fight is not automatically a good person. A lot of Heroes are only in the line of duty for money or the thrill of a fight. _Few people are actually kind._

Which is why I refuse to fall into the trap. He was the one who shouted out about my possibly being involved with a Villain, after all.

The false sense of security Kirishima was trying to portray... Midoriya may be willing to listen to his sugar-coated words, but I wasn't. People don't defend you or stand up for you; it's not how the world works. Heroes may save you, but only a few actually care. It's only pure luck if they get there in time, otherwise… you have to save yourself. They're all selfish liars.

My grip on my food tray tightened, fangs digging lightly into my bottom lip. Forcing myself out of my thoughts, having just realized how long I had been standing there, I began to look around again for a place to sit. It felt weird just standing there, like multiple pairs of eyes were on me, but I knew that wasn't right. Everyone was talking to each other and with the people they were sitting with…

So why did it feel like I was being watched?

Casting another anxious look around the room I started to grow disheartened, unable to find an empty seat away from other humans. I began to walk slowly, shoulders hunched up and head hung low, tray close to my chest as I tried to locate a seat as inconspicuously as possible. Turning a corner I saw it- the single table near the far side of the cafeteria.

I could just barely make out the back of it, but it looked clear. Desperate to sit down and get out of sight of what felt like hundreds of people, I made my way over there. Relieved that I would finally be able to escape I rounded the corner of several tables that were decorated with trimmed hedges. When I got to my destination I came to an abrupt halt, staring with wide eyes at the _one _person sitting at the table.

The same person from the other day and this morning; with his white-and-red hair and mismatched eyes, the boy who sat two seats away from me in class was sitting in the booth. He looked bored, eating his soba noodles and slurping them up loudly, chopsticks held with a practiced-grace in his hand. I looked around nervously, praying to a non-specific higher being that there was another table, but everywhere else was filled and/or seated with multiple strangers.

This guy was all by himself. I don't recall ever hearing him speak, but I did seem to have quite the habit of encountering him. I was about to back-pedal and try to locate a bathroom to eat in, but before I could do so the boy's eyes flickered up and met mine.

_Frick._

There was nothing- _absolutely_ _nothing_\- that was said. He just stared at me, casually slurping his soba noodles, eyes apathetic yet not quite as cold as they were the first day when I bumped into him. Not even as icy as they were earlier when we were both on our way to class. They no longer seemed to be saying _get out of my way _or _leave me alone_, and instead simply held a question- _What do you want?_

Okay, okay. Calm down. Don't panic. Breathe.

Oh gods, my hands are shaking again- I can literally hear my heart beat racing inside my chest. Swallowing down the huge lump in the back of my throat and blinking away the stinging in my eyes, I choked out in choppy Japanese, "E-Everywhere else is- is f-filled with a l-lot of, uh, p-people, so... um. M-May I sit here? Please? I-I just want to… uh, to sit somewhere quiet."

And speaking of quiet, _wow, _my voice went from fifty to fifteen in terms of volume right quick. This guy was a lot more intimidating than I remembered; his eyes felt like they were boring into my very soul. For a long moment I was scared he was going to tell me to shove off and sit somewhere else, that this was _his _table, and I would end up eating beside a trash can. But instead he bit off the noodles he was eating, chewed, swallowed, and then stated in the calmest voice I had ever heard, "It's fine."

I had been expecting rejection so strongly that for a second I thought I misheard. Cautiously, I stepped forward and placed my tray on the table, slowly pulling the chair out and then sitting down. My stomach felt like it was turning and doing flips. When the boy went back to eating his noodles, I murmured a quiet, "Th-Thank you" before picking up my fork and eating.

It took awhile for me to calm down again, breathing a little uneven, but I was able to get to a point where my hands stopped shaking and the dizziness went away. Now I was just basking in the silence that was people _not _talking to me, and the relief to finally eat a school lunch that didn't involve people asking me questions about All Might and Time Bomb.

_"-nah, man, Class 1-A has a foreigner that met All Might personally!"_

Wait. What?

Inhaling sharply I sat up, wide eyes flickering around as I tried to locate where the voice had come from. Did I imagine it? Had my paranoia really grown to the point where I was having a hallucination?

_"I'm telling you! Someone in the Heroics Department fought a Villain! And I'm not talking about the Sludge Villain; I mean an __actual __evil Villain! It's some foreign chick. Look!"_

Head slowly turning to face forward, I looked to see the people at the table in front of us chatting with each other, a boy holding a phone up to his friend and telling them all about the incident. _The Chimera Kidnappings. _He rambled on about how some first-year told him about it and showed him the newsite, and how it was filled with a whole bunch of grotesque details involving the crime scene and the children involved.

_"-fucking experimented on! How sick is that!?"_

_"Ewww~ poor things. And she wants to be a Hero?"_

At this moment I cursed the good hearing my ears gave me. I found myself dropping the fork on my tray, blood running cold as I watched and listened to the people speak. Everything else was drowned out, the only thing existing now being me and those strangers at the table on the opposite side of the wall the bi-colored haired boy was sitting against.

_"I saw one of the teachers helping some girl to Recovery Girl's Office yesterday… Maybe it's her? Think we can catch her on her way back to the Heroics Department? I wanna hear the story from her; this is way cooler than last year! Do you think she actually spoke to the Villains?"_

Stop. Stop talking. It's not cool. It's not interesting. You're wrong.

You're all wrong.

Why is that always their main concern? People are dead. _Children._ Little kids who hadn't the slightest idea of the world. They _died _a-and all they care about is All Might? What it's like to face a Villain? I felt sick listening to their conversation, the food in my stomach churning grossly and making me want to throw up. My appetite was completely ruined now.

Why can't they stop? Don't they realize that families are still mourning?

Are all people really that self-centered?

They said someone, a first-year, said something to them… showing them the site with the story. Had Midoriya told someone? Perhaps someone on the staff was talking about the incident and a student overheard and began spreading rumors. That, or someone put pieces together from the brief snippet of conversation I had with Midoriya, Sero, and Kirishima and did their research.

Regardless, the entire school was going to know if people kept talking about it.

_"Thorn… Irene. Who's Thorn Irene?"_

No. Oh gods, no. They know my name. It was over. Wholly and completely over. I was right about everything. There really was no escape. I can't get away. The moment Midoriya figured it out yesterday was the beginning of the end. And now…

"Hey."

A voice cut through the static. I jolted, snapping into a proper sitting position after having been slouched over for so long, my fingers digging into my arms instinctively. Inhaling sharply, I looked up to meet the cold eyes of the boy sitting across from me once more. His expression remained as dismissive and uncaring as ever, but his eyes- while not betraying the frigid look they normally held- now had the barest trace of empathy hiding in them.

The boy turned his head, glancing at the people on the other side of the decorative wall, and then looked back at me. "Just ignore them." Short, blunt, and to the point. Louder now, I was able to hear how deep his voice really was. "It'll only get worse if you react to it."

But it doesn't stop. No matter how I try to tune them out or actively avoid them the voices. Won't. _Stop_. They'll never leave me be. People always find a way. Humans are selfish, ugly creatures. They take joy in others misery. If you answer them they'll want more, but if you don't then they won't stop until you do. It's a horrible cycle.

"It'll get worse if I _don't._" I responded, voice small as I shook my head. When he just stared at me I struggled to explained, voice a whisper cracking against my will. I didn't want to go in depth into detail, but it was difficult to speak without recalling everything. "They won't stop. They never stop. A-All they care about is… is _All Might. _N-Not the people affected… or the people who died."

My arms were hurting now. I released them and gripped my hands together instead, attention focused on the white bandages peeking out from underneath the uniform sleeves.

"Wh-Whether I ignore them o-or not… it'll always get worse. Them _and_ the questions they ask."

The boy didn't respond. I wondered if he even heard me due to how quietly I was speaking. The conversation ahead of us became louder and the table beside them started to get involved, chattering excitedly about the new information they learned. Letting out a small sigh, I pulled my gaze away and looked around the cafeteria one more time. Rumors were spreading all over the place now.

The emotions I felt seemed to sink back into that familiar abyss, leaving me cold and my chest filled with a strange kind of emptiness. An uncaring, yet heartbroken acceptance.

All Might. Villains. All Might. Villains. Time Bomb. All Might. Murders. All Might.

Experiments. Time Bomb.

Thorn Irene. Comatose. All Might.

Children. All Might.

Death.

Villains.

All Might.

I turned back to the table, head hung low and tired eyes half-lidded as they stared blankly at the food tray. All emotions were gone now, nothing left but a defeated, tired child who was questioning even her own existence in this modern society. It's as though all of humanity forgot how to feel compassion. If a life gets taken people treat it as entertainment. If someone mourns that life and calls attention to it they're never taken seriously. And if a child becomes scarred or broken they're insulted and called an attention-seeker.

People can dream of encountering their favorite Hero or imagine fighting a Villain, but… they often forget that nightmares are dreams, too.

The boy never said anything in response to that. Though I felt sick to my stomach I picked up the fork and tried to keep eating, knowing it was necessary for my body. The words and sayings of the strangers floated through my ears, and I wondered if there was any point in pretending anymore. Everyone knew now.

Or rather, they knew the past but they didn't know _me_.

It was then that I realized that I still didn't know the boy's name, but… I didn't see much point in learning it. I had been curious, but now any desire to learn anything was gone. There was no longer any reason to try and be friendlier if I was going to be hiding from the rest of the school whenever I get a chance.

Finishing my lunch, I stood and quickly made my way over to the line of students that were putting their trays away, foot tapping impatiently. Some of the people were talking about me, but they haven't seemed to realize that it was _me _they were talking about. I was still free from any attacks. As I made my way back from the direction I came from, intending to turn from there to head into the hallway, I thought about my next class.

Fifth period: Hero Basic Training. For my classmates, anyway. _I _would be in the infirmary with Recovery Girl, learning about basic surgery for emergency situations and to be able to remove foreign material from one's body so I could properly heal said person.

**Kirishima and Midoriya are a bit too nice for her liking. XD **

**Read and Review! :3 **


	7. The Number One Hero

_"I hurt much more than any time before; I have no options left again._

_I don't want to be the one the battles always choose, 'cause inside I realize_

_that I'm the one confused~!"_

At least that was what I thought. Turns out she was having me start from the _basics _of basics, testing me on what I knew about human anatomy and biology. The first ten minutes of class involved me awkwardly informing her about the many vital organs the human body had and how their placement could vary depending on the person and the kind of Quirk they held. Some mutation-based Quirks made it to where a person could _not _have a certain organ and as such would have to undergo an entirely different kind of surgery.

The world nowadays was a very strange place thanks to the development of superpowers.

After telling her about what I knew, Recovery Girl handed me multiple medical books and told me to read them. I recognized a few of them, as some resembled the nursing books my mother owned and others being nearly identical to the couple Maria had bought me, so I already knew a good bit about what was inside them. Recovery Girl had me take notes and draw diagrams, labeling where each organ was and then telling me about how I needed to watch out for the arteries during surgery.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Recovery Girl let out a sigh and I looked up from my spot on one of the infirmary beds, watching as she got up and moved over to open the door. What I saw was _not _what I had been expecting. There strolling in on a robotic stretcher was the unconscious and beaten form of Midoriya Izuku. "Wh… What?"

Contusions littered the boy's body, face scratched up with little scorch marks here-and-there, his right arm broken and swollen a nasty red. His left arm was covered in one big second degree burn, as if someone had thrust the limb into a raging fire. The clothing he was wearing, something I noticed was different from his uniform, was shredded and burnt in multiple places. Before I realized what I was doing I was pushing myself off the bed, making my way over with my hand already outstretched.

I didn't particularly like him. I hated Midoriya just as much as I hated the rest of the world; if Aizawa hadn't given us assigned seats I would have sat as far away from him and Kirishima as possible. We were the farthest thing from friends. For all I know he might have even been the one to spread the information about my past to the student body.

But as the robotic stretcher rolled the unconscious boy into the infirmary… I had to admit to myself that I despised seeing him this broken even more than my hate of humanity. It disgusted me. Just what could have _done _this to him? Was it from the battle training? Who was his opponent?

Wait. These are burns.

Was Bakugou at fault for this!?

Vision flooding gold, my lips curled back and I choked, staring down at the wounded boy with a strange frustration building up inside me. He seemed to have some sort of grudge towards Midoriya especially; just what made him hate the boy so much? What made him want to attack him? I despise humanity, but I don't wish harm upon everyone. This is wrong in so many ways.

Fingers barely brushing the burnt flesh, Recovery Girl reached out and caught my wrist. I jolted and looked down at her, confused. "Help me set him down on the bed first, dearie. Then we'll see about you healing him; I want to assess his injuries properly."

But… I know what's wrong. I can see it. "H-He has some internal bleeding a-and a lot of bruises underneath his clothes. I-I can fix it; I know how to fix it."

Recovery Girl stared at me for a moment, lips in a thin line. "I'm not saying you can't or don't know how. I'm saying that we need to get him on the bed first."

Oh. Right. Um. "O-Okay. S-Sorry."

After that uncomfortable conversation the three of us, robot stretcher included, helped lift the unconscious body of Midoriya Izuku onto one of the infirmary beds. He was quite heavy, especially for Recovery Girl and myself, so without the robot I think it might have taken even longer.

"My Quirk will drain his stamina," The Youthful Heroine began as she started to get out some medical equipment, "so after I apply basic first aid and hook him up to an I.V I want you to focus on healing _only _his burns and broken arm. I don't want to risk you knocking yourself out in your current state, alright, dearie?"

Well then… she knows I have a limit in my sleep-deprived state. Was I far too obvious? Probably.

Biting the inside of my cheek I reluctantly nodded, trying not to feel too useless as she stepped forward and planted a big kiss on the unconscious boy's freckled cheek. The burns lightened and the broken arm started to look less swollen, but the majority of the bruises- including that of the internal bleeding- were now gone. It happened in the course of a few seconds. Recovery Girl then got to work, hooking up the I.V and carefully sticking the tube in his arm.

I tried not to flinch at the sight of the catheter, but it was difficult. I had a lot of scars on the back of my hands and the inside of my elbow due to my hospital trips, so most equipment made me a bit queasy. Once Recovery Girl was done hooking him up she gestured me over and I made my way to the side of the bed. "Watch your health, dearie. Remember; only heal his arms. Don't bother healing every other little thing you see."

_She says it like its so easy. _Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and reached out, placing my hand gently over the exposed skin on his wrist. Concentrating until the golden lights returned, I opened my eyes and began willing the flesh back together, skin cells regenerating quickly as brand new energy flooded into the boy's body. I started to feel drained, but I kept going- focusing as much as I could on the arms so I wouldn't get distracted by everything else.

The lights were persistent to move onwards, trying to catch my attention, but I ignored them. The boy's broken arm began to turn a lighter color, the limb bending back into a normal position and his fingers straightening out. Midoriya took a shaky breath, as if able to feel his body healing and being put back together, and a far more peaceful expression took over his features.

For a split second I saw someone else in his place- a young boy with magenta hair and vibrant green eyes- but I quickly snapped out of it and pulled my hand away with a sharp jerk. I stumbled back, cradling my arm to my chest, and wobbled a little as my body tried to grow accustomed to the sudden lack of strength. Recovery Girl looked pleased by my work, but also a little stern when she saw how worn out I was.

Next thing I knew she was plopping gummy bears in my hands and telling me to eat up. I wasn't really big on sweets, but…

I was hungry and so I plopped the candy in my mouth and chewed. When I swallowed them I let out a shaky breath and leaned against the nearby wall. "Thank you."

"No problem. If you're feeling a little better, why don't you go check on the class? If one student has gotten this bad there might be another; the robot can escort you." Wait. She was letting me go?

"What about the lessons?"

"This _is _a lesson." She told me, tapping her giant syringe of a cane on the ground as she turned to face me. "Your biggest flaw right now is that you have a limit. Once you surpass that limit you'll collapse because your body is not in the healthy state it should be. Therefore, dearie, you will only be healing a _little _of the injuries. You must learn to restrain yourself until you have properly recovered. And even then- restraint is something _any _Hero must learn."

...She wasn't wrong.

"Take my Quirk for example. I can speed up the healing rate of a person's body, but at what cost? It uses their stamina and if too much is used at once it can kill them. Yours, on the other hand, can kill _you_. It is very necessary that you learn and understand this."

I do understand, but… not quite in the way she wants me to. "So… you want me to spread out my Quirk until I can properly use it?"

"In a sense. If multiple people are injured you must decide then and there _who _gets healed and how much you are going to heal before you head to the next person. If you try to heal them all up completely… you yourself will need to be saved."

I stood there in silence for a few seconds, letting her words sink in. After playing them around in my head a few times the words actually _clicked_\- reminding me of the mistake I made so long ago. When I had awakened in the dark room I had healed all the children equally, despite having not eaten anything for multiple days and being in a beaten state. Healing them all the way I did led to me being a victim.

If I had healed them all just a _little_ and spared enough energy for myself… perhaps we all would have made it out easier.

"I… I think I get it. Kinda." I bit down on my lip, chewing on the skin as I thought deeply about her words and the horrible memories running through my mind. "So… follow the robot and calculate how much of each student I heal?"

"Correct. Now- before you go…"

I blinked, watching as she made her way over to stand in front of me. She held her hand out and it took a moment for me to realize she wanted me to extend mine towards her. Recovery Girl gave a small smile and dropped a few more gummies into my hands. "I-I'm okay, but… thank you." I tried to hand them back to her politely, but she refused.

"Nope. You eat them. Growing children need their nutrients."

"...These are gummy bears."

"Gummy bear _vitamins_, dearie."

…

In the end I ate them.

Knowing that they were vitamins made me feel a little bit less uncomfortable accepting them, as that meant she was just doing her job as a doctor, but I still felt strange about it. I was also rather grateful, but being shown that little kindness didn't sit well with me. _I've done nothing deserving of it. _I tried not to focus on my emotions, attempting to distance myself from them like my father had been trying to get me to do for so long, but it wasn't working very well. It didsometime around lunch, but then Midoriya's unconscious body came into the infirmary.

The sight of his injuries reminded me too much of the little boy that had been screaming for his mother. I just can't get either of their broken forms out of my mind; it bothered me so much. I mean, it was expected that the students would get injured in their training to become Heroes who _fought _Villains… but I'm seventy percent certain Bakugou was the one who hurt Midoriya like that.

He was even wearing- what I assumed to be- his Hero costume. If Recovery Girl hadn't been so insistent on it, I wouldn't even be trying to put mine on right now. It looked practically identical to the drawing I had originally designed, save for the occasional detail, but at the same time it was so _different _now that it was actually in front of me.

While the other students had their costumes delivered to the classroom, mine had arrived at Recovery Girl's office due to my unusual schedule. Having been made out of multiple different fabrics and the long strands of hair that had been cut off, the costume stretched and shrunk to fit with my current body weight and shape. If the note attached held true, it should also be able to withstand the friction and wind burn it would be hit with when I run.

My mask was made out of similar material, and the contacts they sent for my eyes were made specifically to avoid being burnt up. My eldest sister was to thank for the most part, having saved the strands she had cut off so long ago, and it was her influence in the fashion industry that had allowed her to deliver them to the company that made my costume. She may complain about not being as great an artist like Maria (or even me, strangely) but if there was one thing that no one could beat her at it was sewing.

...And raising multiple reptiles, but that's another story for a different day.

Kneeling down I picked up the small round jar of hair gel that was resting inside my suitcase. _If Midoriya had been bleeding… would I have been able to heal him? _One arm was broken and the other burnt, but aside from the bruises he wasn't bleeding at all. My reaction towards blood was severe, especially if I was actually touching it, so what if he had been? This all started because someone wanted my Quirk.

Rather, the person wanted my _life _until she found out about my healing ability. First it was her, then it was All Might… even the people on the web (the ones that weren't in my old school, anyway) had thought that the "girl" would be able to make great use of her Quirk as a Hero. Perhaps that was something that helped sway my decision to come here, but I'm not certain anymore as to if I can actually go through with it.

My emotions and feelings towards this school keep changing, and my mind is just a huge mess. I know I based my costume design off of Time Bomb's, but there was no way I would ever be able to be even remotely as confident or heroic as her. I hardly know what I'm _doing_ right now; most of this is me simply following directions and trying to mosey through the day. I can't even sort out how I feel about Aizawa being the friend Maria had been talking about.

I… I need _time _to think a-and I'm not getting that.

Opening the jar and scooping out some gel, I ran my fingers through my short cropped hair and slicked it back. My hair was much darker and several times thicker than Maria's so it took a lot more for it stay in place, but it didn't look too bad once it was done. The mask really helped with bringing the costume all together. The person looking back at me from the mirror, though...

It didn't really feel like me. It _wasn't _me. I was a selfish coward, but the one dressed up in the mirror was the selfless person the world had built. The image that people wanted me to be. This outfit was made for a Hero and I… wasn't that. I was just someone who panicked and nearly got everyone killed.

Letting out another sigh, I closed the suitcase and set it down alongside the many others inside the changing room. I hid my glasses inside it, not wanting any harm to come to them despite how goofy I thought I looked with them. The robot had already left, but not before giving me instructions to the observation room at Ground Beta where most of the class was.

My feet dragged behind me as I walked, hands shoved into the pockets of my tailcoat. Recalling how badly injured Midoriya was I began to ponder on how the rest of the class must be faring. Just what did the teacher have them do? Who was even teaching? What if the students actually _are _bleeding?

I'll heal them regardless, but if any of the blood touches me…

No. No. It'll be fine. I can snap out of it. So long as I remind myself that I'm _here _and not back in the dark room…

I heal Maria all the time, right? Her anemia often leaves her covered in blood when injured and I can still heal her, even if I have to snap myself out of an attack afterwards… so, yeah. It's fine. I'll be fine.

Approaching the door I took a few shaky breaths, preparing myself for the worst, and reached out for the handle. I slowly opened it, peering into the room hesitantly as I looked to see where everyone was. They were all gathered in the front of the room, watching a bunch of television screens. A couple students appeared to be fighting on the screens, and from the looks of it I would have to say that it was Kirishima and Sero versus Bird-Head and Frog Girl.

No one appeared to be too terribly wounded, just a few scrapes here-and-there; the only ones I saw who could really need healing was… Hagakure and the boy with a tail. Their feet were partially blistered. I was just about to look at the man in front of the crowd, ready to see who the teacher was, when the door slammed shut behind me and caught everyone's attention. I stiffened and froze in place, taking in everyone's costumes and the eyes that were very clearly on me.

Inquiring, confused, and a few were aggravatingly _pitying_… but then there was the cold stare. A single gray eye boring into me, expression neutral, his gaze far more chilling than what it had been before in the cafeteria. It wasn't as terrifying as the crimson glare being sent in my direction, but it was still highly disconcerting. Not knowing what to do and a blank drawing in my mind, I timidly raised a hand in the air and stammered,

"R-R-Recovery Girl sent me to…" Wait. Who _was_ that person in front of the class? "...heal everyone."

The teacher held a speaker in his hand, some kind of device attached to his ear. Having finished speaking into the microphone, the man turned to see who entered the room. He was extremely tall, probably a few inches over seven foot, with bright blond hair. The person was unmistakable, sclera colored black from an old case involving vinegar, and I could make out bright blue pinpricks looking my way.

There, standing all the way on the other side of the room, dressed in a skintight outfit resembling that of Captain America from the _Marvel _movies, was All Might. He didn't look much different from what I remembered; his grin was the same as always and his skin as tanned as it was from two years ago. The same intimidating aura radiated from him and his expression was still full of kindness that most people didn't have. And yet…

I found myself both in awe and completely distraught, having not thought I'd be meeting him again so soon after all this time. I wasn't even ready to talk to him again, nonetheless have him as a freaking _teacher_. Why was he even working as a teacher? He's the Symbol of Peace! He's supposed to be out and fighting crime- not… _teaching _students! Oh gods. Oh gods, no.

This can't be happening. I haven't even- I still haven't proved myself worthy to have deserved his help! To have deserved him saving me! I wasn't prepared to face him yet; what am I supposed to say!? Maria handled most of the conversations over the phone under the guise as Time Bomb because of my sheer incompetence at human socialization!

I stood there speechless, simply staring at him. All Might observed me for a moment, eyebrows raising as confusion settled on his smiling expression, before his eyes widened. Panic settling in I took multiple steps back, hitting the door, and I reached behind me blindly for the handle. "Ah, could you be~? Of course! You look just like her; Young Thorn Irene, isn't it!?"

No. No, no, no, no, no. Not happening. This isn't happening. He couldn't be here- _there's no reason for him to be here._

"Are you _not_ her?"

My first instinct was to run and yet as my fingers finally grasped the door handle I realized what kind of situation I was in. All Might had saved me and went through so much trouble to get me and Maria here; if I ran away from him… wouldn't that seem ungrateful? I can't hide from him like everyone else. Despite everything my panic was trying to get me to do, I forced myself to let go of the handle and I looked up at the Symbol of Peace, watching as he maneuvered through the crowd of students.

He stopped a few feet in front of me, towering above almost threateningly due to his massive form. It was funny; after the talk in the hospital All Might had been a sort of comfort for me. The words he spoke whenever appearing at a scene became the words I would tell myself to help snap out of my panic attacks; it helped to remind myself where I was in the present. But at the same time he was also another source of stress.

I felt like I needed to do everything I was told; to go to U.A and become a Hero, to graduate and become someone that was _worth _saving. To be someone who deserved all his help.

And so seeing him here and being so _scared _of him despite everything he's done to help… it really put into perspective just how much I had been lying to myself before. I wasn't alright. I was a freaking mess. I knew I wasn't a healthy human being, but this made me realize just how hecked up my mind was. "I-I-I-I _am_… I am…"

"...Young Thorn Irene?"

Yeah. That. I was that. The words wouldn't come out so I nodded at him, vision strangely blurry. All Might hummed to himself and placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head thoughtfully. Next thing I knew he was leaning down until he was closer to my height, a hand on his chin.

"You're so shook! Did Recovery Girl not tell you in the recording that was sent to you?" Ah, I guess I _was_ shaking. Seeing my confused expression All Might stood up straight and continued, raising his arms dramatically in the air, "I am here- as a teacher to U.A! I'm assuming Young Midoriya was delivered to the nurse's office in time? How is he?"

"M-Mi-Mid-Midoriya is f-fine…" I gulped, blinking a few times as I tried to calm my racing heart. I felt so dizzy. Speaking the language became quite difficult and my eyes wouldn't stop burning. "W-W-We did the healing a-and h-he's attached t-t-to… to… I.V. Arms good. B-Burn a-and… bone has been done with the f-fixing. Um..."

Unable to hold his stare I focused my gaze to the floor, finding the solid gray tiles rather interesting. I felt lightheaded and humiliated. In the hospital I was able to talk to him semi-normally, but now I couldn't get two words out in front of the number one Hero without choking on my own voice. Could he even hear me with how quietly I was talking?

The man probably regrets doing anything to help me. I was a disgrace.

"H-He's… doing the, uh, sleep now. Body is only… bruised."

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed, standing up straight with a big smile. A large hand on my shoulder had me tense up, his next words making me snap my head up to stare at him with big eyes. "I'm glad to hear it! You did well."

He… wasn't upset with me? I did _well?_

"And speaking of doing well, you look great! You've really grown." The last time we met, I had been bones on a hospital bed. All Might let out a huge laugh and slapped me lightly on the back, sending me stumbling a few steps towards the horde of students. "Your Japanese could use some work, but that's alright! All _Might,_ really! Haha! Why don't you go check on the others, Young Thorn? I'm sure one or two of them could use your healing touch!"

All Might wasn't mad at me for my behavior or speech. If he knew about my panic attack yesterday then he just wasn't saying anything about it. The adult looked… the number one _Hero _looked… almost _proud_ of me. He stood there beaming, hands on his hips as he smiled down at me. I stood there for a few seconds processing all of this, before my lips twitched upwards in a weak attempt to return the gesture. "R-Right…"

Everything was okay for now. He wasn't mad. I can do this. I… I want to meet his expectations.

Fingers curling in fists in an attempt to stop my hands from trembling, I turned around and began to make my way over to the rest of the class. They were all staring, gazes no longer focused on the battle. I no longer had my Quirk activated, so locating Hagakure was a bit more difficult than it was earlier. Deciding no time was better than ever, I focused my vision until there was gold and headed in her direction.

The majority of the students refocused their attention on the screens, but a few flickered their gazes back-and-forth from All Might and myself, questions clearly running through their minds. If any of them had heard the rumors earlier… this encounter had probably just confirmed them. "H-Hagakure?"

Not knowing what else to do, I awkwardly held a hand up in the air, both as a greeting and a silent way of asking for her to grab onto it. I couldn't tell if she heard me or not, as the only real view of her I had was of her mindlessly floating gloves and the golden lights on her feet. After a few seconds they both moved until they were facing me and a voice exclaimed, "It really is you, isn't it, Thorn-San? You look so cute in your Hero costume!"

Oh. "Y… You… too?"

How am I supposed to respond to that? Actually, she's invisible so how am I supposed to know whether or not she actually looks cute or not? I opened my mouth to ask for her hand so I could heal her feet, but she cut me off quickly.

"You think so? I tried to give the gloves a nice design! Is the cross on your back supposed to resemble the first-aid symbols? Your gold eyes are so cool!"

"Th-Thanks? Um. C-Can I- Can I just have your hand? The blisters will… get worse…"

"Hm? Oh, sure!" It was odd watching the glove just sort of _float _over, especially considering that it wasn't really floating since the person wearing just couldn't be seen. A part of me expected to feel only cloth and not really any _substance _because of what it looked like, so when it wrapped around my hand and I could feel the solidity of it I was mildly surprised. A thought quickly occured to me.

"I… I need your _bare _hand. I-I have t-to touch flesh for it to work…"

"Wouldn't my arm work then?"

Fair enough. Shaking my head I reached up with my other hand and touched her arm, partially weirded out because it looked like I was touching air. I could feel her skin, but it just… wasn't there. It was so weird. A few moments passed of the energy glowing through me into her, and the golden lights began to fade until she was totally healed. I pulled away and Hagakure did a little spin, a small gasp escaping her lips.

"Wow~ it feels so tingly! I feel so energized!" She pumped her fists in the air and- judging by the movement of the gloves- jumped a little. "Oh, are you going to be healing Ojiro-Kun, too? His hands got a bit messy during our fight with Todoroki-San because of all the hot water!"

I blinked, eyebrows knitting together as I tilted my head at her. "T-Todororoki? Er, Todo-" Ack. I can't pronounce it. "Totoro- uh, who?"

Hagakure raised her hand and gestured to the side, saying, "Todoroki-San! He's the boy covered in ice?" Boy covered in-

I followed her gaze and was stunned to see that she was indeed pointing at the same person from before. As if knowing he was being talked about his chilling stare turned towards us, a single gray eye boring into our very beings. He was a very intense person. I met his gaze, wondering what he was thinking, before giving a very timid wave. Without any further interaction, the boy just turned away.

It was only when Hagakure's voice appeared right next to my ear that I realized she had moved closer to me and I jumped, stumbling sideways and looking at her alarmed. "He's really quiet. Anyway, you still need to heal Ojiro-Kun, right? He's over there!"

Yeah. A few feet away from Bakugou. Got it. I did my best not to flinch at the sight of the angry-looking blond who attacked me and instead focused my attention on the boy beside him. Ojiro, was it? Alright. Deep breaths. Come on, girl, you can do this. You've faced bullies before.

Bakugou is just more… aggressive than the rest.

After a few seconds of debating with myself and trying to gather the courage to walk forward, voices caught my attention. All Might was talking into the speaker, saying something about the "Hero Team" winning, and telling the battling students to return. I took that distraction as motivation, desperate to avoid Kirishima and Sero, and forced my feet to move. Ojiro blinked down at me, surprised.

"Eh? Me, too?"

I nodded, unable to make myself speak. I awkwardly held my hands out, asking silently for permission to heal him. Ojiro looked a little awkward, but I couldn't blame him. I was just as uncomfortable- if not more.

"Uh, so…" He gave me his hands, watching my eyes glow a brilliant gold. "You and All Might… know each other, huh?"

My shoulders stiffened and my breath got a little uneven, but I pretended not to notice. Grasping his fingers lightly I focused on healing him, surrendering a bit of my own energy and giving it to Ojiro. The light on his hands dimmed down as the burns faded away, soon vanishing completely as there was nothing left to heal. The blond blinked in surprise, having not expected the sudden burst of stamina, and thanked me. Pulling away, I gave a small shrug and backed up a few feet.

"Did All Might really save you?" He asked, gaze flickering from the pro hero greeting the returning students and then back to me. My arms crossed over my chest, fingers gripping tightly onto my sleeves as I tuned him out. "A-Are… you even listening? Do you understand what I'm saying? You knew what the teachers were saying, right? Or… not? Uh, crap- I don't know how to speak English..."

Don't respond. Don't react. Just keep backing away. Look around- where's a hiding place? There has to be _somewhere _where noone will see me. A trashcan no one wants to go near, maybe? Oh, how I adored hiding beside garbage. Some place… over… there! My eyes locked on to a dark corner far away from the group.

One foot stepping forward was all it took.

"Young Thorn!"

I froze in place, stunned by the sound of All Might's voice. Head turning almost robotically in his direction, I watched with big eyes as the large Hero waved a hand enthusiastically at me. He was gesturing for me to come over, the students that had just returned from their battle beside him. My body didn't want to move. It took every ounce of willpower I had to make my legs go towards him, obedience winning over fear.

Red eyes looked at me curiously, having not recognized me until the teacher revealed who I was. I turned away from the look of concern Kirishima wore, unable to withstand the horrid weight crashing down on my chest, and instead began to criticize the lack of decor on the floor. For such a prestigious school that had worked so hard to intricately design every room, this one wasn't all that good. All its focus went onto the computers screens and machinery.

I stopped a few feet away from All Might and the other students, levelling my breathing as best I could. My legs were still shaking. A hand on my shoulder made me flinch, but I didn't pull away. All Might's blue eyes bore down on me kindly, his grin unfaltering. Something shifted in those eyes though when he saw me flinch, but I wasn't quite sure what. I prayed he didn't notice how scared I was.

I doubted it though; Maria always did comment on me being an open book.

"Are any of these young students injured? They look quite alright to me, but your vision is far superior to mine." He laughed, tapping the side of his head with a large index finger. "You can see any injury, can you not?"

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I gave a nod. I blinked a few times, telling myself in my mind that there was nothing to be afraid of. It was just a healing session. Everything is fine.

So why, as All Might's hand squeezes my shoulder ever-so-slightly, do I still want to cry?

It was so hard not to break down then and there, memories of our first meeting rushing into my head. Our conversation, the promise, the determination to go to this school. To have a purpose. To make him proud. He was both a source of stress and an emotional crutch, encouraging me to keep me going while causing me panic that I would never be able to meet expectations. He was what kept me grounded when I got trapped in the past. I just…

I feel guilty.

I'm not worth all this trouble.

Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart and lifting my head up to stare at the four people standing across from me. Frog-Girl and Bird-Head looked relatively unharmed save for a few bruises. Sero was pretty much the same, and Kirishima…

"They're okay."

He barely had any bruises at all.

All Might beamed, looking absolutely thrilled by this news. He laughed loudly and when I saw him raise a hand up in the air I instinctively shrunk down, scrunching my shoulders up with a cringe. The Hero paused, hand resting centimeters above my head, before he pulled away. His smile faltered ever-so-slightly at my behavior and I mentally berated myself in my head for my actions. Breath caught and tears forming, I choked out a broken apology. All Might looked very alarmed by this.

He waved his hands frantically in the air, attempting to diffuse the situation. He gave a thumbs up, "N-No! It's quite alright."

…

The Number One Hero had dealt with many hardships in the past, varying from growing up as a Quirkless child to obtaining a Quirk from the most powerful and kindhearted woman he ever knew, to losing that same woman to their greatest enemy. When he escaped to America to grow stronger and returned to Japan many years later and fought that greatest enemy, he suffered grievous injuries himself. He had won, but at a terrible cost. Three years later, All Might got wind of missing children's cases that had yet to be solved.

With the help of his dear detective friend, All Might tracked the culprits down back to America. There he was able to work together with the police and several other Heroes, and pinning down the areas where the most recent kidnappings/disappearances occurred, All Might was able to find the building where they were most likely being held. The Villain's stronghold. When he learned that these children might be alive- no, when the very _thought _of their suffering came to mind… he was filled to the brim with rage. Justice rang strong and true in his heart and he refused to back down when someone was in need.

But for the sake of appearance, to trick the fear inside of him and to comfort those he would be saving, he smiled. It was only when he saw a young girl sprawled out on a table, covered in blood and sick, arms and legs cut open, and other children strapped inside glass tubes surrounded with some kind of harmful liquid, that he snapped. If Time Bomb hadn't knocked that wretched Villain unconscious when she did, there was no telling what he might have done. Later, after the children were all taken to an ambulance and police began to lock up the crime scene and run forensics, All Might learned something disgusting.

Most of the foes that Time Bomb had faced in the building before he arrived had several Quirks of some sort, yet lacked most of their personality. Even more sickening, the room the living children were kept in was filthy and rotten, filled with the bodies of the deceased- all of whom were probably meant to be next in line for guard duty, but whose bodies failed to sustain the mutations the female scientist was trying to force upon them. Kids, barely eleven years of age, some even five or six, that were torn apart from the inside out, having been tortured in an attempt to make another human that could wield multiple Quirks. It reminded him all to much of _that man_\- the same one whom he had fought three years ago at that time. It was five years now, if we spoke of current day, but that evil still spread its roots…

That girl… lying in the hospital bed… was so tiny, so frail, _so brave_. She gave her all to create a diversion for those children to escape, as if in hopes a Hero would arrive to save them. When All Might learned of her Quirk from Time Bomb before in the Villain's lab, he was astounded. It made sense why they had captured her despite her age difference- though none could be sure if it were planned or coincidental because of her young appearance. Nothing could be ruled out- even to this point. If that _man _was still out, still in hiding, still alive, still spreading his roots throughout the world, he would surely come after her next… wouldn't he?

Her Quirk was rare and she was partly why those children were saved. Who knows how long it would have taken for them to find the children, nonetheless the Villain, had Thorn Irene not acted as a decoy in order for them to get away. It was reckless and considered suicide to some, but to All Might- he thought it was an act of a Hero in the making. So, in order to keep an eye on the child and make sure she would not be victim to anymore schemes, he suggested U.A. It would be a good opportunity for her to recover from the pain in a new land, away from where the hurt had taken place, and she had some she could learn from- a person, Recovery Girl, who held a similar Quirk to hers.

But… if his enemy was still out there… he could be here in Japan. So why didn't All Might change his mind, tell her to find a Hero school elsewhere that could hone her talents?

Because he received a phone call one day. _"A-All… Might? Th-This is you, right? S-Sorry…"_

It was from a timid, scared little girl who had claimed that she wanted to learn to be a Hero, though she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing so. She was especially at a loss as to how she would get to Japan or even if her parents would let her after what happened; they had been keeping her under lock-and-key since she was released from the hospital. She sounded so hopeful, though like she was going to start crying from the anxiety of talking to him. He couldn't blame her; he was quite intimidating- especially to his foes- though having a sweet child like her scared of him hurt his heart. His paternal instincts acted and before he knew it he was offering her and her sister, Time Bomb, help.

Unfortunately, after that day… he hadn't spoken to the child, the only one ever calling him or picking up his calls being Time Bomb. It concerned him, but he lived with the idea that Thorn Irene was gradually getting better. The details Time Bomb told him left him quite relieved, the woman informing him on how the girl was practicing speaking the language and even writing it, the Number One Hero himself filling with pride at how determined the girl was to learn and work towards her goal.

But… he should have known; the sights she had seen, the danger she had faced…

There was no way a child could recover from that after only two years. All Might should have been more diligent and meddled more. He should have asked to speak to the girl instead of just accepting Time Bomb's words. Now, because of his failure, the girl was flinching away at the slightest touch. He had learned of her panic attack from the other teachers yesterday, something caused by young Bakugou's aggressive behavior… and that had struck the first chord in him. Started to make him realize something.

And seeing her act so _scared _of him all over again…

It confirmed his suspicions. She was frightened of people. Is that why she never spoke to him after the first day? But why? What had changed? Seeing her interactions with the other students made it clear Young Thorn was trying to avoid people; she was uncomfortable with socialization and strangers. Did she feel pressured by her peers somehow?

_"Witnesses state that she had gotten separated from the small group she was travelling with and _

_had not been known to have been missing until after the class had gathered to leave."_

It was there. It was on the tip of his tongue and in the back of his memory. Why was Young Thorn so afraid of people now? She shouldn't be frightened by other children her age. All Might observed Young Thorn and Young Kirishima, watching as the redhead tried to speak to the brunette.

"Hey, is everything okay? A lot of stuff was being said at lunch and…"

"I'm fine." Short and curt. The girl was trying to curl into herself, as if hoping that she would be able to disappear into her turtleneck. She looked away, unable to meet his sincere gaze. Young Kirishima frowned, but didn't appear discouraged. He offered a small grin, raising an arm and gesturing to the crowd.

"Alright… then why don't we head over there? The battle results are gonna be discussed soon."

Every movement made Young Thorn tense up or tighten her hold on her own arms. Uncomfortable, scared. Anxious. She looked like she wanted to run away from the conversation, but something held her back from doing so. Instead of speaking the girl gave a hesitant nod, though only after glancing up at All Might and the other students who were already walking over to the crowd.

Young Kirishima walked slowly, as if trying to match her pace and not scare her off anymore than he already was, like she was a glass bottle about to break at any moment. She refused to look at him, keeping a few feet behind the boy as they walked away, but there was uncertainty in her eyes. Like she didn't know if she could trust him.

And suddenly everything made sense.

_Young Thorn said she was left by herself at the park, didn't she? _The memory of the conversation was so far back the details were hazy, but All Might was certain he had figured out the issue. _The classmates she was with went off without her. No one even knew she was missing until it was too late._

Young Thorn Irene was able to talk to All Might in the past because everything was still fresh and she wasn't quite wary of people yet, but as time went on she was able to reflect on everything. Which means- what? Because of what happened she can no longer bring herself to trust anyone?

_Does she think __I- __no, anyone adult or child- would abandon her given the chance?_

The very idea of it felt like a dagger to his chest, shaking the man down to his very core.

...

"You should have been here during Midoriya and Bakugou's battle!" Kirishima exclaimed, rambling on about the previous fights. "The guy was totally crazy as he went after Midoriya! Midoriya's power was pretty incredible, too, but… it had a serious recoil. Were you there to heal him? When did you get here? Did you see my fight?"

He's so… bubbly. I stood there, slowly taking apart everything he had said and translating it, before my mouth opened in realization as I understood what he said. I fiddled with the sleeves covering my hands, giving a hesitant nod. "Y-Yeah… after we helped M-Midoriya, Recovery Girl sent me here. I-I saw a little of th-the fight, but…"

"So you _did _see him." Kirishima clarified. That irritating concern was back in his eyes again. It wasn't real, so would he please stop pretending to care? We don't even know each other that well. We're not friends. "You know… you're pretty manly, Thorn!"

I made a face at that, looking at him weirdly. "Y-You… realize I'm a girl, right?"

He grinned wide and bright, shark teeth plain to see. This conversation sounded strangely familiar for some reason. "Doesn't matter the gender! If someone's manly they're manly, alright? Despite how scared you act of people you still try to help! What's more manly than that?"

Nope. Nope. Don't do that. Don't compliment me. No.

"I-I'm not…" I faltered in my words, losing the ability to give a retort. Responses ran through my brain, but hardly any of them seemed fit for this situation. What was a person supposed to say in this situation? The only person who genuinely compliments me nowadays is Maria, and that's normally alongside constructive criticism. Whether Kirishima was lying or not, he was gradually beginning to figure out how to mess with my brain and I hated it. "I'm _not_… manly. I-I think you're crazy."

I cleared my throat after saying that, trying to focus on what everyone was saying now that All Might had begun to talk about the battle. The pony-tail girl, Yaoyorozu, mentioned that Kirishima focused too much on a frontal battle and didn't expect Tokoyami's (Bird-Head) tricks. Asui's (Frog-Girl) tongue and limberness also made it easy to separate Kirishima and Sero from the fake weapon.

Kirishima just chuckled at my words, seeming to not take any offense. His demeanor shifted a little when he heard his flaws in the battle and he apologized to the teacher _and _to Sero, bringing a hand up and ruffling his hair. I took that chance to back away, but Kirishima saw me and frowned. I stopped and berated myself for being so obedient towards other people, but I was unable to bring myself to walk away. _Freaking jerk lying and pretending to be nice…_

I feel so obligated to not run away from him. I hate it. I hate all of this.

Ice-boy at least didn't fake anything. He seemed pretty grumpy towards everything around him; I'm amazed he even let me sit at his table during lunch with how much he glared at me in the past and as of the moment- right now. The boy was pretty blunt. Yes, he bothered me a little… with his staring and utter silence, but at least he wasn't acting friendly.

_His costume is a little terrifying, though…_

The single glowing red eye encased in the ice sent chills down my spine and I had to force myself to look away, thinking about anything to distract my mind from going back to its darker corners. I settled on the fact that Kirishima's appearance reminded me a little of a _Kingdom Hearts _character named Axel. This in turn reminded me that the DLC for the final game in the Xehanort Saga was going to be released soon, and as such made me extremely excited for the new trailers. My mind was successfully distracted.

...Eventually, though, the review was over and All Might went back to directing the teams to the building they would be fighting in, and I watched with hesitant eyes at the violence taking place on screens. No one seemed to get too badly injured and there wasn't any blood; people wound up with several contusions, but that was about it. There wasn't really much use for me here.

My time would have been spent more productively in Recovery Girl's office.

_For the fact that this was meant to be a lesson, it wasn't very… useful? Is that the word for it? Instructive. Yeah, that's it._

I let out another sigh, shoulders slumping over. Reaching into one of the many bags strapped to my costume around my hips I pulled out a piece of jerky and began to munch on it. This is all such a pain. I should just head back to the infirmary.

_But… what if someone does get seriously injured again while I'm gone?_

That paranoia kept me rooted in my spot until the class was over with. All Might led us all outside the observation room, stopping only when we got to the main doors of Ground Beta. A hand on his hip, the number one hero held out a thumbs up with a big grin. "Good work, everyone! And aside from Young Midoriya we didn't have any major injuries! You guys worked seriously on this! You did great for your first training class!"

Asui pressed a finger to her cheek, tongue sticking out naturally as she spoke, "To have such a proper class after Mr. Aizawa… it's a little anticlimactic." I looked around when I heard several murmurs of agreement, watching as several of my classmates nodded their heads. Could beating each other up really be considered a proper class? Although… being a Hero _did _consist of fighting Villains… so I guess. I felt the English and Math classes were more proper than this.

All Might grinned widely at the girl's words, raising his arms high up in the air. "We're free to have proper classes as well!" He turned, flipping the cape over his shoulders as he waved a hand at everyone. "I need to go review the results with Young Midoriya so he knows what he missed out on, so go and change out of your costumes to return…" With a deep breath the Hero whirled around, a trail of dust in his wake as he dashed down the large hallway. "TO THE CLASSROOM!"

I personally have never seen All Might run. I was barely clinging to consciousness during the incident, and I don't even really remember his voice at all during the rescue. The only time I saw him was in the hospital, so even though I knew he was fast I never saw it up close until now. The blond man moved quick- almost as quickly as me when I ran- but I could still see him. It was also then that I really truly looked at him, something in his movements instinctually activating my Quirk and making my golden eyes catch sight of several fireflies hovering about on his body.

Particularly around his chest- leading deep into his respiratory system.

_Damage…?_

I stood in shock, eyes wide and confused, head tilting to the side as my mouth opened ever-so-slightly in a silent gasp. Did I imagine that? Was All Might hurt? How? Before my brain could properly register what my eyes had seen the teacher was gone and the students had recovered from their amazement. Kirishima's hand tapped my shoulder, startling me and causing me to leap to the side, which in turn freaked _him _out, but when I tried to apologize the pink-skinned girl was suddenly in my face.

"Did you really fight Villains!?" What? Oh. No, no, no. It didn't take long for more of the students to surround me, letting loose one question after another. "What was it like being saved by All Might!? He was cool, right!? His "smash" is cool, right!?"

I tried to back away towards the long hallway, but the exit was blocked by a blond with a black streak in his hair and the creepy perverted midget. My heart caught in my throat and my voice was nowhere to be found, panic and anxiety melding together to create something even worse. The invisible walls of personal space that was around me seemed to cave in, making the area of movement tighter and smaller, and the amount of oxygen I could inhale decreased rapidly. Every person speaking to me faded and blurred in-and-out of focus, some of them even seeming to duplicate thanks to my crazed vision.

"Which "smash" did he use!? Did you see him fight!?

"Was Time Bomb as hot in real life as she is on TV!?"

"What happened!? Was it really that scary!?"

"Was the wind pressure really powerful!? He made it rain a year ago with a single punch!"

I was trapped, here and unmoving, in a place with no means of escape. Before we were on Ground Beta outside in daytime, but now we were in darkness. The only source of light came from the glowing fireflies and it did little to comfort me. My breath quickly grew uneven as my gaze darted around frantically, hands starting to shake as memories of the crime came back to me. And it was then I saw it- that single, glowing red eye…

Everything faded in-and-out. My vision, my hearing. Someone tried to touch my arm and I freaked, inhaling sharply and stumbling away, looking in the direction of the attacker with a horrified expression. It was the tail-boy I had healed. As I tried to move away the people seemed to get closer to me, blocking any pathways, and my arms were pressed against my ears while my fingers tugged at my hair.

That deafening silence of not being able to hear anything simply brought forth the memory of crying children- screaming, begging, pleading for their parents. Wailing in fear. Cruel, sadistic laughter and the memory of intense, blade-cutting-into-flesh pain.

Someone was shouting. I wasn't sure who.

People were arguing. Angry. Disturbed.

Voices.

All that I could hear… was voices. And then the month at the hospital… feeling violated and disturbed. Trapped in my own body. Torn into, shredded, put back together, and ripped apart again. Darkness.

Silent… and unforgiving… darkness.

I gave in to that darkness, letting all the emotion slip away into nothingness. My body and mind shut down, but all I could see remained red. Blood and vomit everywhere, staining the premise. Coloring my hands in its disgusting vibrancy. But the thing that changed… was the air. It was freezing. Not hot and damp. It was ice cold.

"_Back off_."

A single red eye cut through the black. Hateful and dismissive, glaring at something far ahead that only it could see, but it wasn't evil. It was tortured. Understanding.

Frost littered the ground near the other students feet and they all jumped back, desperate to get away from the ice. "Wh-Whoa, man!" The blond-haired boy with golden eyes stammered, hands held up defensively. "We didn't mean anything by it! It was just a few harmless questions! How were we supposed to know she'd freak!?"

Yaoyorozu spoke up, but her words barely reached my ears. I was paralyzed from my spot on the ground, legs having given out sometime during my panic attack. Her arms crossed over her chest, giving everyone a harsh look. "It should have been made clear earlier! This was not a subject to be breached so casually! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Away. Get away.

Can't… breathe…

Hands wet and sticky with imaginary blood, I twitched violently and scrambled onto my feet, shaking my arms and making a bolt for the exit. I slammed into the wall as a result, unable to stop myself in time, and I wobbled sideways as the blond blocking the door shrieked and backed away. "Dude! You good!?"

Away. Get away. I fumbled for the door handle, hardly breathing at all, deep shallow gasps leaving my throat as I choked. Finally opening the door I dashed away in a very light jog, barely reaching the changing rooms in time when my legs gave out. Body crashing hard onto the marble floor, I wheezed and gasped, clawing at the ground whilst nausea hit me. The blood was still there. Everywhere.

I'm not… there. I'm not, I'm not, _I'm not_-!

Tearing off my hero costume as I forced myself up onto my feet, I wobbled blindly towards where the sinks were- slamming into a wall and locker occasionally as I did so. Fangs digging into my bottom lip, ripping at the flesh, in an attempt to distract myself from the pain in my arms. In my legs. In my stomach.

I collapsed over the rim of the sink, turning the water on hot, but it wasn't enough. There was too much-

I needed more. More water. Hotter. Burning.

_Wash it away._

Unable to walk anymore I crawled over to the shower area, hand smacking the wall a couple times as it flailed about to grab the knob. I felt sick. Dizzy. I wanted to throw up.

And so I did.

Convulsions wracked my body and everything my body hadn't digested yet from my run was left to be washed down the drain, scorching hot water splashing my back and burning away every touch and every drop of blood that resided in my memory. I gasped, head reeling back as tears stung my eyes, the burning water streaming down my face. I could feel it soak into my arms, digging deep into my flesh, hitting each scar with every painful drop. Everything needed to just go away. To leave me alone.

To stop existing.

_When will it stop…?_

Will it ever stop? It hurts so much.

_I don't want to do this anymore._

My shoulders slumped over as I sat there in suffocating silence, wishing the shower water could wash the memories away… or at the very least drag me into an abyss without anyone there in it. Somewhere cool and quiet, with no people who would ask questions. Who would pretend to be kind to learn about All Might or Time Bomb. Who would act as my companion… and then leave me to death.

_Just leave me alone. All of you._

Let me disappear into nothing… like I should have long ago.

_It should have been me_. That boy with the green eyes… he should not have been taken. The old woman should have picked me to experiment on. If I had done more I could have saved him. His family is still mourning him. _I'm sorry._

Lifeless and unfeeling my hand grabbed at the knob weakly, shutting off the water. My skin was red and bright, pale and malnourished. Every movement was accompanied by tremors, body trembling as it struggled to keep up with the sudden weight loss. I watched with tired eyes as the imaginary blood went down the drain alongside the water, my reflection barely seen in it. What I saw wasn't the current me, but _her_. The girl who had awoken in the hospital bed after spending a month living in continual torture.

She looked at me spitefully, bitter and broken, wondering why I cast this fate upon her. Why I allowed her to fall for the lies of her classmates and why I allowed her to grow into such a twisted human being. Why… I can't accept her… and what I've done to her.

A shaky breath escaped my lips and I coughed, gasping as I forced myself to stand. Footsteps reached my ears, but judging from the distance they were still a good two minutes from the door. I didn't care if I was still wet and dripping from the shower water; I stumbled over to the lockers, kicking my hero costume over to my suitcase as I went, and got to wrapping the bandages back around my scars. I was in the process of buttoning up my white uniform top when the door actually opened.

_Shouldn't have made a scene. _I silently cursed to myself, spewing words and insults that I would never dare say out loud or to anyone. There was no backing out now; what outcome resulted was a course of my own actions for running away. I was a fool. _What does it even matter anymore…?_

"Th... Thorn-San?" A voice nervously called out. Yaoyorozu. I ignored her and the rest of the girls, and pulled my socks on- noting how much larger they were on me now that I've used my quirk. After a moment of self-reprimanding I took them back off, wrapping my legs up with some extra wrap I carried on me just in case. "O-Oh my…"

Yeah. Gawk. Act like the nurses.

My shirt barely wanted to stay on my shoulders now, but using the tie I was able to crappily force it into place by tying up the collar around my neck. Zipping up my uniform skirt, which was now dangling at my hips instead of my waist, I was about to grab my jacket when I saw it was being held out to me. I blinked, slowly shifting my gaze up to see who was doing it. Black eyes met mine, calculating yet gentle. I stared at her, eyes narrowing distrustfully.

"Perhaps you should put in a request to the school board?" Yaoyorozu suggested as I cautiously took my jacket from her. "It won't do well if your uniform does not match school standards due to your Quirk."

_What is her aim?_ I didn't respond, instead focusing on trying to get the oversized sleeves overtop my baggy shirt. Yaoyorozu turned away then, taking off her own hero costume and changing back into her school uniform. The others girls, though anxious, hesitantly began to do the same- all casting glances at each other as they tried to figure out what to do.

"Th-Those scars on your legs…" The blushy brunette began, voice small, "w-were they…"

"Shh!" Hagakure hushed, giving the girl a push or something and knocking her slightly off balance. "Don't ask that!"

The pink-haired girl looked up at the ceiling, closing her eyes and cringing. "Things are so tense now…"

Yeah. Congrats. Proud of yourself now? I scowled internally at them, real expression void of any emotion.

"Thorn-San."

_What? _I turned to Yaoyorozu again, tempted to tell her to leave me alone, when I saw her holding out a towel. The flesh on her right arm was glowing, showing that she had made it using her creation ability. My eyebrows knit together, lips tilting down slightly into a frown. I didn't understand- especially since she seemed like such a stickler for the rules.

"You do not wish to catch a cold, yes? Use this." I looked at her and then back at the towel, eyes flitting back-and-forth between them for a moment. She lowered her head, eyelashes fluttering closed in a short bow. "I know not the story behind you and our great teacher, but whatever happened is something that should not have been spoken about so casually. We have come to this school to learn and train to become Heroes that would save lives, that would bring relief to the hearts of the frightened, and help those who have become victims of villainy. However, today, two of our classmates caused an uproar."

She paused, taking a breath, and stood straight. Her eyes locked me in place, earnest and… features gentle with an emotion I could not quite identify. I took a small step back, panic forcing its way back to the surface, fingers tightly curled into fists.

"Mineta-San and Kaminari-San took it upon themselves to rudely expose the rumors of your past to the student body. What should have remained in your heart and the hearts of those involved alone was brought to light, and you were made to suffer due to the tactless curiosity of our fellow students."

Why… is she telling me all this? What is she trying to get at?

"I can only assume the stories hold true based on your reactions and I wish to apologize on behalf of their cruel foolishness, but… even so… I find myself desiring to thank you. Quirks must never be used without a license and only in self-defense, but without your actions that day there is no telling what might have become of those children. You were afraid, yet put their lives over your own and condemned yourself to a _horrid _fate. You are an inspiration, Thorn-San, and the other students would do well to recognize that. Your actions involving your Quirk since joining U.A may be a little rash, but we can not simply form base judgments on that alone. You are a healer… and protecting others is something a Hero is driven to do."

My hands went limp at my sides. No words could leave my lips even if I wanted them to. It sounded as though Yaoyorozu was _praising _me… even though she was fully aware I was being reckless. That I was _still _reckless. But… I wasn't deserving of such praise, even as constructively criticizing as it was.

I had been too scared back then to follow through with my original plan and because of that I ended up improvising. I didn't save anyone. Not really.

If the Heroes weren't there when it went down then the children would have all died. I would have been killed and so would have the child that the old woman grabbed while the others ran away. It was timing. A coincidence.

"I-I'm not…" My voice cracked, words dying on my tongue as a pair of lifeless green eyes flashed through my mind. My hands lowered to my forearms, where the proof my survival lied. "I'm not anything like that," I finally said, murmuring quietly, voice barely above a whisper, "the Heroes did the saving."

"I respectfully disagree. There is no telling what could have happened should you have decided not to take action. You granted them a bit more time to find you. " She told me, before holding out the towel once more. "It's clear this topic bothers you so I will not say anymore on the matter, but I felt I must speak my piece. Please accept this as a token of my apologies. If there's anything else you need, please ask; I'll help you to the best of my abilities. We're classmates, after all, and both striving to be Heroes."

_Why…?_

I stood there for a few seconds, lost in thought, and reached out to grab the towel from her. The girl bowed one more time and then returned to putting on the rest of her uniform. My weak bony fingers curled around the soft, fluffy fabric of the towel and I slowly pressed it to my face, wiping off the droplets of water. I didn't put much energy into drying my hair, but as the towel fell down to wrap around my shoulders I cast one more glance at Yaoyorozu who was buttoning her blazer.

The irritable feeling of gratitude decided to make itself known in my chest and I found it difficult trying not to make myself thank her. She didn't have to make me a towel to dry off with, especially since it was typically against rules to use our Quirks, but she did. She also… apologized for everyone else and… from what I've seen she was a very serious person. There was no way that wasn't genuine, right? I… I have to thank her.

_I don't… want to be rude. _But I also don't want to fall for it if it's a trick; people can't be trusted. No way. _What… should I do?_

I held on to the towel, conflicted as to what course of action I needed to take, and only realized too late that my chance was slipping away when she and the other girls were leaving the room to head back to class. I opened my mouth to call out, yet no sound came out. My voice died on my tongue, a lump forming in my throat and causing me to choke. I was scared.

Unsurprising, but… annoying.

Actually, what am I supposed to do with the towel now? It literally came _from _her. Frick, I don't know what to- _ack! _Seeing the time I frantically folded the towel over my arm, tossing it in my locker, and fumbled to put my shoes on. Ah, what about my socks though? I'll shove them in my bag on my way back to the classroom. Maria's going to be so furious…

I really screwed up.

The conversation with Yaoyorozu had managed to sneak some emotions back in without my permission, so while I didn't really want to _exist _I found it hard not to be upset about the idea of my sister being mad. Or the teacher. Oh gods, if All Might finds out about the attack I just had… I'd never live it down. It's already going to haunt me ten years down the line- _if _I even survive that long. I don't want him to know about it.

Actually, come to think of it, what _did _happen before I ran away? I was so panicked and my senses were a mess I… don't really remember. It got super cold for some reason and there was lots of yelling, but all I can actually "recall" is my own hallucination. Someone must have used their Quirk or… maybe I imagined that, too.

I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets, dragging my feet as I walked out of the changing room. How much worse are the rumors going to get now? Maybe Kirishima will leave me alone… no one wants to put up with someone as messed up as me, right? He'll finally give up on this goody-goody act and show his true colors.

Pulling out and munching on some jerky, I forced myself to walk down the hallway. No one was approaching or even looking at me, thank the gods, and we focused on making our way back to the classroom. This led to everyone staying after school, discussing their hero training.

I, on the other hand, continued to hide in my seat, an arm draped over the top of my head as I leaned down against my desk, silently drawing away and resisting the intense urge to close my eyes and sleep. It was impossible to hide my yawns. I messaged Maria to let her know that class was continuing a while longer, and after about an hour passed I began to question if it was alright to head home.

I sat up straight, rather relieved no one was talking to me, and stretched my arms out with a piece of jerky dangling out of my mouth. I was super hungry; I could really go for some of Maria's steaks right now. Ahhh, just the thought it is making my stomach grumble. As my eyes drifted to the clock, I began to take notice of the whispering. My ears twitched and I scrunched my nose up, and I did a quick look of the room to see who it was.

Pretty much everyone save for Octopus, Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu. They were all gathered around two people- Pikachu and Pervert. I turned away from them quickly when one of the whisperers glanced my way, hiding my face with my arm once more and pretending I didn't exist. But that didn't last very long, as a loud shout caught my attention and I looked up to see the small grape-haired boy panicking from his spot surrounded by all those people.

"H-How were we supposed to know she'd react so negatively!? It was just supposed to let the other classes know we weren't fooling around! I mean- think about it! It's insane! She stopped _Villains! _Not one- multiple!"

That's not true. I didn't stop anyone. I merely used myself as a distraction.

"She's supposed to be a healer! But she did all that and went and took on _Bakugou- _that sadist! She's completely crazy! You expect me not to talk about someone as cool as that!?"

The conversation had me feeling sick within moments and I buried my face in my arms, covering my ears as best as I could. Why were they so damn sensitive to all the sounds around me? I could live without it, if only not for my wretched appearance. Can't they just _not _talk about this? About me? It was impossible to tune them out with how loud they were. I could even hear their footsteps…

...which was coming my way. Maybe they would walk _around _my desk and not stop by it? Perhaps they wanted to talk to Yaoyorozu or Todoroki, or-

Opening my eyes, I begrudgingly raised my head to see Pikachu- ah, I mean the blond with the black streak in his hair, looking down at me. He was scratching the back of his neck nervously, gold eyes having trouble meeting mine. "L-Look, I'm… really sorry. I just got super excited to have someone in our class that dealt with Villains. Well, someone who wasn't Bakugou, anyway… When Mineta told me about the news he found, I couldn't help but to tell someone about it. Then they told a person a-and… it got really out of hand." He lowered his head in a small bow. "I'm sorry."

I stared him completely blank-faced, but didn't speak. He stood there, shifting foot to foot, waiting for a response. Instead of saying anything to him I merely buried my face in my arms, using the desk's top as a pillow.

"E-Eh? Seriously?" I heard Kaminari say. "You aren't even going to get angry!?"

"...Anger burns more fiercely in the dark…" An unfamiliar voice said. I think it came from Tokoyami who sat behind me; the one with the bird-like face and the shadow that could come out of his body. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Wh-What does that mean!? Is she mad!? Is she not going to forgive me!?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Yaoyorozu spoke, accompanied by an agreed chorus of females. "You brought this upon yourself. You should have thought about your actions before you told everyone about something that _wasn't _yours to tell."

"She is right!" I recognized that voice. It was from the glasses guy- the one that's always arguing with Bakugou and was with Midoriya during lunch. "You acted dishonorably!"

"It's not _our _fault!" Mineta exclaimed indignantly, annoyed. "It's her fault for getting kidnapped in the first place! If she hadn't been there then there wouldn't be any story for us to blab about! If you're going to blame someone blame _her!"_

He realized at once he said the wrong thing and gasped. The room went quiet. Slowly, without a word, I raised my head and sat up in my seat. My expression darkened considerably and I focused my gaze on Mineta- who was now sweating profusely as fear etched itself across his face.

"...You might want to apologize for that-_ribbit_." A girl with long hair commented, a finger pressed against her cheek. "That's going too far."

"N-No way! I-I didn't do anything wrong!"

As I packed up my notebook and pencils and stood, Mineta let out a shriek. He looked utterly terrified, like he was about to wet himself, but it quickly turned to confusion when, after I grabbed and shoved everything into my bag, I stopped in front of him and demanded in a quiet voice, "_Move."_

Once the initial shock had passed, the short boy scrambled out of the way. I could hear the voices of the other students, but I ignored them. I had enough of people. Most of the students got out of the way and unblocked the door, but as I reached out to slide it open a hand latched onto my forearm.

An unfamiliar hand. A hand that _wasn't _Maria's.

Memories of a blinding light and sharp blades running through skin flashed through my mind and I panicked, yanking at my burning arm and shrieking at my startled attacker, "Don't _touch _me!" Kirishima released me, watching with wide eyes as I stumbled towards the door. "D-Don't…"

Cold. Fear. Isolation. Darkness. Blood.

I cradled my arm to my chest, wishing for myself to disappear into nothingness. To cease existing. To fade from this situation where everything has gone wrong. Breath heavy and eyes watering, I fumbled to open the door and I stormed out of the classroom. I didn't need their apologies; I didn't need their blame.

I didn't need to be spoken to. I wasn't here to make friends.

I was here to become a support Hero.

Why can't they all just leave me alone?

Halfway down the hall I heard the classroom door slam open, footsteps chasing determinedly after me. I ignored them and the voice calling out to me, focusing solely on my own footsteps and the direction of which I was heading. The person chasing me was determined now that he had snapped out of his shock, but he was quickly growing frustrated. "Stop ignoring me! I'm trying to talk to you!"

"I don't _want _to be spoken to."

"And why not!?" Kirishima demanded, quickening his pace and sliding in front of me, blocking the way. I made to walk passed him, but he simply held his arms out and moved in front of me again. "Stop! Just… give us a chance, won't you!? No one meant to upset you!"

No. I'm done. The source of my panic attacks this month has been coming from people in this school. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of trying. There's no point in trying to have a conversation with anyone if all they want to ask about is the past. People are liars. They abuse you and use you, and then they'll discard you once they find it fit to do so.

No one "meant" to upset me…

I highly doubt that.

I shook my head and attempted to walk passed him, but Kirishima moved again. He was careful not to touch me, but that didn't stop him from raising his voice. "I didn't even _know _about anything until everyone went crazy during lunch, damn it! I was one of the people trying to get the crowd to back off after All Might left!"

My rage simmered down a little, confusion beginning to take its place, but the calm fury did not leave my expression. I stood there, waiting for Kirishima to finish his speech.

"I just want to be friends," He continued, looking almost sad, "You and Midoriya are the only people I really talk to here at this school aside from Ashido. Everyone was really worried when you collapsed earlier- yesterday, too! Just… come back to the classroom, okay? We'll keep Mineta on a leash so he won't say anything like that again. You can go over the battle results with us! Maybe even let us know more on how your Quirks work?"

The redhead sounded hopeful. His eyes were wholly sincere, expression filled with only kindness and concern. I stared him down, hoping that my glare would scare him away, but Kirishima remained strong. When it became clear he wasn't going to back down I tore my gaze away and looked down at the floor, uncertain as to what all these conflicted feelings were.

"I'm not… going back to the classroom." I settled on, keeping my voice as steady as I could. I wasn't going to trust him; I don't care how genuine he sounded. But for some reason, despite it all, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I didn't plan to make friends. I pointedly kept my eyes on everything _but _Kirishima. "Besides my… my sister is on her way here to pick me up, so..."

The redhead blinked, lowering his arms, before a hesitant grin spread across his face. "D-Does that mean it's okay? W-We're still good?"

...He did defend me against Bakugou.

I refused to acknowledge him as a friend, but it's not like he was the cause or target of my anger in the first place- even if he was the one who let his words carelessly lead to others researching the past. I was still going to avoid him whenever possible, but I would prefer not to be wrongly cruel.

"I don't know. I… guess? Eugh, I'm going home." Kirishima looked pleased. "Bye."

"Bye!" He exclaimed, smiling widely as he raised a hand up in the air. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

With that he took off running back to the classroom, allowing me to continue on my way. I switched out my shoes and approached the gate outside where Maria was meant to be waiting… but when I arrived she was nowhere to be seen. I peered around the corner to see if she was nearby and I was disturbed to find that she wasn't.

Heading back inside the gate I set my bag down and pulled out my phone, surprised to find multiple notifications. Some were from app games I played, a few were from Maria letting me know she'll be late due to work and that she was currently on her way via train, and some were news notifications letting me know which heroes were battling and where, and when those battle had taken place.

To my alarm Time Bomb been cooperating with a few other Heroes in Esuha City earlier, all of them having been trying to diffuse a hostage situation. The police had been close to panicking. _Maria… _I'm glad everything ended well. She was clever- so she was able to find a way to beat the attackers and rescue the hostages, especially since there were other Heroes with her. Fatgum was notorious for helping the police, and it was his agency she was transferred to after we moved here, so they easily won the battle.

And although I knew she wouldn't be able to read it at this point in time, I still messaged her to let her know I received her texts. _You know where I'll be_, I wrote, _good job winning! 3 _Shortly after she responded: _Heading your way now. Est: ten, fifteen minutes. _

I then pocketed my phone, sitting on the ground and pulling out my earbuds and notebook. I wasn't really keen on waiting on the ground outside, but there was nothing more I could do. Maria was a Hero and that meant she couldn't always be there for me. I understood that.

I just have to distract myself from the thought that I was alone. I was on school campus so I knew no Villains could get in because of the U.A barrier, but it did little for the paranoia. As such I plugged my earbuds into my phone and turned on some music. _Dear Evan Hansen _was a nice musical to release my feelings with, especially since certain songs hit a little close to the heart, and so I focused on that and my current task.

Drawing.

Several minutes in to drawing a certain _Kingdom Hearts _protagonist having an identity crisis, I could hear footsteps and the sounds of people talking, Bakugou leaving the building. I watched from the corner of my eye as he neared the gate- only to be stopped by someone shouting. Midoriya. Oh thank _gods _he looked so much better; really healthy, too. His pale skin was back to its normal tan. It was hard to tell, but it looked like he had multiple band-aids on. His arm was moving normally as well. I healed him good.

...I couldn't hear what they were saying due to my music, but it looked like a really serious situation. One… I shouldn't be apart of. So I scooted away out of view, far from them, and continued drawing. Loud, boisterous laughter rang through the air afterwards and I flinched, realizing quickly it was All Might- praying to the gods of both Greek and Norse mythology that he wouldn't notice me.

He didn't seem to, for he and Midoriya returned inside after what appeared to be another heartfelt, serious conversation. Poor kid looked ready to cry. Oof.

My anxiety slowly started to melt as I quietly jammed out to the music I was listening to, one foot tapping and my head nodding to the beat. Two minutes passed. Three. Four. I was almost done with my drawing. No, nevermind, I screwed up. Have to erase that. Ugh, the pose is all wrong. The face turned out so pretty, too. Disappointing. Why do hands exist!? Fingers! Aghhhhh. What the heck is his hair? Why is it so spiky? He's lucky he's my fictional son.

Six minutes. People began to leave the building.

What is his left eye doing? I'm not even gonna bother- _new page_. Let's do some more drawings of Zexion and both versions of Ienzo. They were adorable.

Mineta glared at me on his way out of the building, eyes impersonating daggers with the amount of hate in them. _The disdain is mutual, dude. Shove off._ I pretended not to notice, uncaring about his feelings towards me, and swayed a little to the side as I tried to match the rhythm of the song. I ended up swapping to some music that related to my artwork, which ended up being, of course…

_Simple and Clean_. Yes. Ugh, the new Utada Hikaru song was so good- I still can't believe she and the band Skrillex worked together. _Face my Fears? Don't think Twice? Loop, please._

And just why does my favorite character's hair have to be so messy? It's cute and I love him, but… ah. Footsteps. They didn't belong to Maria. So into the zone I discarded the thought from my mind, not bothering to look up to see who the owner was this time, that it took a little too long for me to realize that the feet were now directly in front of me. Having not expected them I jumped, startled from the random person, and I looked up to see who it was.

The boy said nothing, staring at me intently with unreadable eyes. His gaze was neither cold nor kind, but instead looked on with silent question. I shifted slightly, wondering what was going on in his head, and prayed he wasn't going to bring up anything from before. He was one of the few people who haven't asked me about the incident or behaved overly friendly.

I was starting to grow uncomfortable, the anxiety that had slipped away temporarily coming back at full force. What did he want? Why was he here? Maybe he was annoyed and was going to complain about the cafeteria and class fiascos. That would be understandable. I had wanted to avoid irritating the one person who hadn't freaked me out, but then I panicked and caused a huge commotion. Again.

Hopefully he isn't mad about that. Mobs are terrifying. Unless you're a small middle school boy nicknamed Mob with supernatural powers that was depressed because he had to repress his emotions lest he risk causing harm to everyone he loved and/or cared about, and-

Wait, maybe he's just confused about why I'm sitting down? I've no idea.

Biting down on my lip again, I set my pencil on my notebook and set them both carefully on the ground beside me, pulling out an earbud. "I-Is there something you need?"

He tilted his head, still not speaking. I awkwardly cleared my throat, looking around nervously.

"I… um. I'm… not in your way, am I? D-Do you want me to move? I-I can move, I just-" I began to pack up my things, panicking and fretting over the idea of upsetting the one person who hadn't bothered me at all. "I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry; I'll just- go. Over there. Uh. Yeah. Sorry."

I ducked my head, holding my bag close to my chest, scrambling away. It felt like I was a rabbit facing a wolf; an ant beneath a boot that wasn't quite sure if it was going to get squashed or not. He had this sort of cold intimidation about him as he faced me, his frigid eyes boring into mine.

"All Might."

My foot stopped mid-air, breath catching in my throat. It was hard to breathe. He sounded so scary; I didn't want to turn around. Bottom lip trembling and my eyes starting to sting, I forced myself to look over my shoulder. He had a very aggressive expression of determination on his face, and as he stepped forward I began to feel even smaller in comparison. He towered over me easily with his height of five foot nine, my pathetic five two cowering below him. "Wh… What a-about him?"

"You know him." His face hardened. "How? Did he really save you… or are you related somehow?"

_Related…?_ My expression blanked and I was hit with confusion. That was the strangest question I had ever received.

"It's publically known that he spent a long time in America when he first started out as a Hero," Todoroki said, low voice gradually starting to sound bitter as he continued to speak, "it wouldn't be surprising if he found a woman there and had a child. He's the one who suggested you come here, who recommended you to the school. Am I wrong?"

"I… I'm not…" My grip on my bag tightened, bony knuckles going white. This was the most ridiculous question I had ever received and yet he was still so intimidating. "I'm _not _his kid."

His heterochromic eyes narrowed, as if searching my face for any tell of a lie, before his dark expression faded slightly. "...I see. Good for you."

I almost choked at that, baffled- both at what this conversation was and because my mind automatically referenced a song upon him saying that last sentence. Todoroki then turned away, about to walk off, and I snapped out of my thought. For once in my life, for the first time since the incident-no, since I stopped trying to talk to people, I found myself compelled to reach out and-

"W-Wait!" He stopped, looking back at me. My voice caught again and I swallowed down the lump that was stuck in my throat. "I… uh. Wh… Why is that a good thing?"

"Because if you were," He began, looking at me with eyes that seemed to be glaring at something far ahead, "we would have had to become rivals."

"...You're serious." What was with this comic book/manga line? How come he was being so intense about it? I don't understand. My confusion showed on my face as I knit my eyebrows together. "Wha…? What would have made us rivals? I couldn't even make a _good _rival if I wanted; you'd snap me in half like a freaking twig in a fight. Do you see my arms right now? They're practically bones!"

I held an arm up to show him, exasperated and completely mind boggled, gesturing to the baggy sleeves dangling from the limb. I went from being nearly overweight to underweight in a couple hours; what one earth made him think I could face him in a fight, nonetheless be a rival? What the heck was with the whole All Might being my father thing, anyway? Do I look like I could be half Japanese? Considering some of the answers he gave in class I thought he was a smart, but clearly that was not the case.

"You don't know?"

I was even more lost. He closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"But if you aren't related… and you aren't a secret love child of his… who are you to him? Why did he go so far to help you, or are the stories false?"

"I…" I gripped my bag so tightly it hurt, unable to meet his gaze anymore. My bangs fell into my face, glasses threatening to fall of my nose. "I don't… know. He said my Quirk was rare a-and… wanted me to use it. I-... I just wanted to get away, so I… I agreed. I thought people wouldn't know or figure it out, so… yeah. But I was wrong. A-And now… _everyone _knows and…"

My grip loosened, defeat washing over me. Talking about this hurt so much, why was I doing it? I was planning on keeping this all to myself.

He stared at me for a moment, observing me, reading my expression as if to decipher whether or not there was more to the story. "So you have no connection to him… aside from that chance meeting?" I looked at him strangely, wondering why he phrased his sentence the way he did. It was as if he wasn't interested in All Might himself, but more of if I had a relation to him. Maybe I was looking at this from the wrong angle.

"N-No…?" I stammered, confused. "He just… thought my healing Quirk would be useful."

"Useful." Todoroki repeated the word as if it were poison, his voice low and bitter. The intensity of his gaze was no longer directed at me, the boy turning head and glaring at the ground as his expression darkened considerably.

"I mean, I… I _want _to help people, but… I can't do what he asks." I found myself reluctantly admitting, lowering my head in disgust at myself. "He wants… _everyone_ wants me to act a certain way, b-but… people are _awful_. I-I don't care about making friends, I don't want to talk to them, I just-!"

A deep breath. Shaky legs. I curled my lips back, fangs bared.

"I-I just want to graduate as soon as possible and not have to deal with anyone." That's it. My horrid wish. It went against my real feelings, my real desire, but my fear had control of me. I couldn't go against it. I would never be able to give in to what I truly want. There was too much to risk. I hung my head, squeezing my eyes shut in frustration, holding my back tightly. "But… it's hard to avoid them a-and not talk to them, and… if I don't they get mad. If I talk they pester me, but if I don't talk they'll pester me even more. Th-There's no end…"

"...People just get in the way." Todoroki muttered, as though he were in agreement. I jolted out of my thoughts, stunned. What did he just say? Did I hear him right? He wasn't looking at me anymore, glaring darkly at the ground- an expression so _bitter _and _cold _on his face it chilled me to the bone. "Once I'm out of here… I'll show my old man. I'll graduate and become a Hero without the use of my left side."

He clenched his fingers into a fist, a determined fury shining in his hateful stare.

"I don't need anyone standing in my path." His icy blue eye was all I could see from the angle I was standing at, the boy focusing on me once more. The hand he was using to carry his school bag tightened its grip, and as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye I stiffened. "Thorn, right? You're a healer and not a threat. If anyone else bothers you about your past, I'll deal with them. Just stay out of my way."

"O-Oh…" He was… what? Um. Something fluttered in my chest- gratitude, perhaps, amidst all the confusion? It was impossible to read what Todoroki was thinking, but I was starting to think that he was haunted by something as well. "Uh… th-thank you?"

He nodded, and I saw a young woman with auburn hair walk near the gate- ready to enter school grounds. Maria. Todoroki was walking away by this point, leaving me alone, and I started to wonder if that meant I couldn't sit next to him during lunch anymore.

"S-See you…-!" I started to call out- only to cut myself off and mumble instead, "-...tomorrow."

Such a weird, ridiculous conversation. Why did I feel so compelled to talk to him?

Kirishima and Midoriya were so bubbly and strange, but Todoroki was even weirder. I can't even pronounce his name aloud without biting my tongue. He was very standoffish and quiet, and clearly something was bothering him. What though? Something involving his dad? What was wrong with his left side? His scar is on the left side of his face, but I don't see what that has to do with-

"Hey, short-stop!" Maria waved me over, walking over and holding her arms out for me to crash into. After a few moments of hesitation I did so, skidding over and deciding not to tell her about what had just happened. I didn't want to bother her anymore than I already did. Still, I felt so… light after admitting my wish like that. It was crazy, thinking that talking to intimidating Todoroki helped me feel a bit better. "I've got great news!"

"What?"

"I'm making_ pork_ tonight!"

...

Pulled pork was undoubtedly the greatest thing to hit my tastebuds today. Dinner was strangely silent this time, but that probably had to do with my anxiety reaching over its peak. I chewed the meat nervously, savoring the sauce, and tried to ignore how her bright hazel eyes were boring into my skull expectantly. If she kept it up any longer I might just end up blurting out everything that happened today. She was seriously intimidating.

Kind of like Todoroki.

Maybe the reason I wanted to talk to him was because he reminded me of my sister… back when she was angry and still hated me. Todoroki didn't seem like he hated me, but he definitely didn't pretend to like me either. It was nice. He got straight to the point when asking his questions and they weren't even the usual ones either. It was weird how relieving that was for me.

When it became clear to him that my only real connection to All Might was the kidnapping he left me alone, but… not before saying he would take care of the people who bothered me. Was he really going to help me? Why? Did he get his burn from a Villain, like how I got my scars? He said something about his father. The conversation kept bothering me, eating at me, my thoughts running a hundred miles an hour.

Suddenly I found myself pausing in my partake of the glorious food, frozen as a horrible thought came to my mind.

There was no way…

Todoroki didn't get that burn from home, did he? It was so oddly placed- in what scenario could someone obtain a burn from boiling water directly over his eye without it spreading to the rest of his face? It had to have been poured on directly, right? From what? A pot? But mine and Maria's older sister had a pot of boiling water spilled on her accidentally when she was little and it scorched not only her entire left arm, but part of her torso and thigh as well. Her dress had caught on the handle and knocked it over, which led to her getting scarred. A pot couldn't do such intricate damage as what had been done to Todoroki. What then? Did his dad-

"Irene."

I jumped in my seat and snapped my head up, startled. "Y-Yeah?"

Maria narrowed her eyes. "What happened today? I noticed it earlier when I hugged you, but you've lost weight again."

"That's… I, uh, freaked out. You know me- I'm not that bright." I cleared my throat, bringing my third sandwich up to my mouth and biting into it. This pulled pork was so freaking good; I loved it. I still had enough room in my stomach to eat four more sandwiches. I grabbed some pieces of pork that tried to fall off the bread, getting some sauce on my fingers in the process. "I wuv thif tho much. Mmm~!"

Her gaze did not falter, the woman determined to figure out what was wrong. Her nails rapped against the table rhythmically before she picked up her fork again and tore off a piece of her food, taking a small bite. "Alright… well, so long as you didn't have another attack again."

"Y-Yeah…"

**Todoroki with those conspiracy theories again. Tsk, tsk. Though Irene is coming up with some conspiracy theories of her own. XD Read and review! :3 **


	8. Plus Ultra

_"I don't know what's worth fighting for or why I have to scream,_

_I don't know why I instigate and say what I don't mean."_

The next day went as well as could be expected, though oddly enough a few reporters were found at the gates trying to talk to the students. Apparently they wanted to know about All Might since he was revealed to be working as a teacher? It was weird. I didn't wholly understand it; I didn't really care to understand it. I just wanted to get through my classes peacefully- which, of course, didn't happen. Half the time Bakugou was trying to pick a fight with Midoriya, Mineta was constantly shooting me glares and scowls, and I sat there in my seat completely dumbfounded as I tried and failed to read the characters that were written on the board.

The only solace I had was lunchtime, but even then… I could hear people whispering. Mineta would make rude comments towards me when the class started to head out to the cafeteria and even more so when we were standing in line. As a result Kirishima and one of the girls nearby would go off on Mineta, while Midoriya tried to ask the creep to be a bit nicer. Mineta just huffed and turned his head, taking his tray of food and wandering off.

I questioned if it would be alright to sit with Todoroki again, considering that last conversation we had was… confusing.

I wasn't quite sure what he meant by "refusing to use his left side" or what he meant by "taking care" of those who would "bother" me. What did he mean? What was he going to do? I was so lost. He was just a conundrum that made little sense. Did he get that scar from a Villain like I did… or was it something even worse- caused by someone at home?

I approached the table and stood there for a moment, contemplating theories and whether or not I should sit down, and wound up nearly jumping out of my skin when Todoroki appeared out of nowhere. He set his tray down, and after a couple awkward seconds of silence with him remaining utterly quiet as he slurped up his soba noodles I sat down. I guess as long as I stayed out of his way he didn't really care.

Although… I had to wonder; what _did _he care about?

He was very cold and distant, and extremely hard to read. He said something about showing his old man about graduating with using only his right side… didn't he? I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking things. I shouldn't even be this curious about him; I hated people. I can't trust anyone, no matter what they say, even if Maria thinks otherwise.

How can she or anyone else expect me to just give in so easily? So act like the incident never happened?

The people I _did _trust end up leaving me alone, cursing me to be trapped in a dark and terrifying abyss. I can still remember the endless hunger, the fear I felt, and the visuals of the other children… both alive and dead. There was no pretending it was all okay. Because… it's not.

I can't smile like All Might wants; I'm not strong like him.

I'm just weak.

Letting out a small shiver, I hurriedly began to stuff my face full of food. I was intent on putting on more weight since my last breakdown, and since dinner last night I was making quite good progress. If I kept this up I should be going from one thirty to one fifty-seven in no time. My digestive system was different from most, so I could put on or lose weight in just a few hours depending on what or how much of it that I eat. My average weight was around one twenty-seven, but it was safer to keep on a few extra pounds since running took so much out of me.

What did it matter if people sometimes gave me odd looks for eating so much? I don't care.

Not really.

My health was so bad I had to be even crazier about trying to keeping my weight at a somewhat decent place, not to mention making sure my body got all the minerals and vitamins it needed to function. I hated vegetables, but I forced myself to eat them along with the tower of food I often got during lunch to help. Whether I ate chicken alfredo, hamburger helper, rich, beef stroganoff, lettuce, carrots, kale, broccoli; it all had a purpose. Lunch Rush actually seemed amused rather than annoyed at having to make such a large order, the hero genuinely seeming to enjoy cooking. Several salads and meaty meals were plopped onto my tray, all stacked neatly atop each other, and it was a heck of a balance game to get to the table without dropping anything.

Someone made an insensitive comment, but I paid no mind. I just kept eating. All the while, Todoroki never stopped slurping his soba, not at all bothered by the mountain of food taking over the table. He actually accepted some rice when I offered it to him, as well as a couple of buttered rolls, though he didn't really talk at all. Just like with everything else, he didn't seem to care about what was going on around him. Todoroki was only focused on his current tasks.

It was… really nice. A bit worrisome, but nice.

I can't remember the last time I was able to share food with someone at a lunch table, not at all uncomfortable by their presence. If I didn't know any better and wasn't trying to keep a distance from others, I would have dared thought we were friends. This was what I sort of envisioned friends doing, anyhow; it was what I always did with those I considered friends back in America. Mother would always pack my lunches and even though I didn't care for sweets she packed them, and I would give them away to the people I sat with because I knew they liked them.

Then… _that _happened and I just… stopped.

The only person I could share food with was Maria. Even asking if Todoroki wanted anything from my mountain was food was difficult, as I was scared of upsetting him and even more scared of just speaking in a casual way with someone. It just felt kinda wrong to eat so much without offering any to the person I was sitting with. I didn't understand it.

Before long the school bell rang and we finished eating, putting our trays up and walking to class for Art Hero History. It was taught by the _R-Rated Hero: _Midnight, otherwise known as Ms. Kayama. The class was to work on a project, but we could split in groups if we wanted. As a result most of the girls grouped together, and one of them- consisting of Ashido Mina, Uraraka Ochako, and Asui Tsuyu-tried to get me to join.

I refused as politely as could, not wishing to hurt their feelings anymore than I had to, whilst stammering like a fool. Being the awkward human being that I was, I waited a few more moments watching people get together before grabbing my text book and trying to get to work. Two minutes in Kirishima approached, pointing at Midoriya and Mineta, trying to convince me to work with them. He explained that the only reason they had the creep in their group was to try and keep a leash on him, since he kept being gross towards all the other girls. Unfortunately, their attempt only worked so much and it did little to stop Mineta from glaring daggers at me.

"Uh…" Even if he wasn't there, I would have to refuse. I'm not joining any group. "N-No, thank you. I'm… good. I like to work alone."

Kirishima pouted. "Aw, come on, Thorn! Don't be that way! You, Midoriya, and I are a team!"

My eyebrows furrowed at that, confusion written all over my face. "We are?" Since when? I don't remember agreeing to this.

"Just leave her!" Mineta snapped, interrupting the conversation. "We don't need a fattie like her, anyway."

There was no warning, no telling of what happened next; in a split second Asui stuck her tongue out and smacked the boy upside the head, the appendage reaching out from her side of the room to where the creep was sitting. I blinked, startled, and stared in amazement as her tongue drew back into her mouth. It stretched so far! She really was a frog, wasn't she? That's incredible.

Wait, no, I'm supposed to hate people. Ick. Don't compliment them!

I'm okay with being friendly, but not _too _friendly.

Midoriya squeaked when he saw what happened, watching as Mineta sat there dazed, a bruise forming on his wide forehead. Kirishima scowled at the purple-haired creep, folding his arms over his chest. "Don't listen to him, Thorn. He's just pissed that he got told off anyway. Besides, you look fine the way you are."

"Um… thank you?"

I wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Kirishima pumped his fists into the air, tears seeming to well up into his eyes. "You're just… so manly, you know that? Mineta doesn't understand, but that's okay! Midoriya and I know it! Eat as much as you need to keep being the manly person we know!"

Yeah, okay, he was really weird. I debated scooting back to another seat, before deciding to just lean away instead. "O… Okay. I'm, uh, g-gonna go work now, so… yeah…"

"Right." He took a deep breath, placing his hands on his hips, and nodded firmly. Kirishima grinned at me. "Well, you know where to find me or Midoriya if you have any problems! I'm not the smartest, but I can explain a word or two for ya! Good luck, Thorn! Stay manly!"

The redhead gave me a thumbs up and I held my pencil awkwardly in my hand, not sure whether to be disturbed or grateful for his strange form of encouragement. "Uh… you too."

Oh gods, if his face could get any brighter I'm sure it would have. His eyes lit up so happily at that. Kirishima walked away with a stupid grin and sat down next to Midoriya, and when Mineta snapped out of his daze and muttered something the redhead acted instantly- hand reaching out and smacking him upside the head. Were they… actually trying to… no. No, there's no way. It has to be an act.

Right?

Still, no one's ever went out of their way to defend me before…

Midoriya waved at me from his spot on the ground when he saw me staring at them, a timid smile on his face. My eyes widened and I quickly turned away, raising a hand up to block them from my vision, other hand flipping through the textbook to find the passage I needed to read before I could get to work. Unfortunately, I was far too distracted to actually focus. There's was no way they could actually care… right? About me? I…

I shook my head, frustrated. I can't let down my guard! No way. I won't believe it.

Struggling to translate the written language, I spent about twenty minutes trying to figure out the wording. I glanced around every now-and-then to see how the others were doing, and wasn't really all that surprised to see that Bakugou and Todoroki were also working by themselves. Yaoyorozu was with Shoji Mezu and Tokoyami Fumikage, shockingly enough, and I found myself wondering how I should return the towel to her.

Or, you know, if I would ever even be able to. I was planning on taking it home with me and washing it, maybe finding a chance to give it back to her sometime in the morning when we were getting ready for homeroom, though the very thought of me trying to talk to her left me anxious and scared.

I'm not brave enough.

I sighed and tapped my pencil against my workbook, glancing up at the clock. Time was moving so slowly. Midnight was tapping her steel pointer stick against her hand, the long strip of metal matching the exact pace as the ticking clock's hands. By the time class ended Midnight told everyone to turn out projects in by the end of class tomorrow, and I slumped my shoulders in defeat. Normally I tried to get my homework done during class, but it was so hard with it being in a language so different from my own.

Everyone began to pick up their things to head back to their own desks, and I had just finished shoving my own things into my bag when a shadow appeared over my desk. Mineta. He was standing in Sero's seat, glaring down at me with a hand on his waist, the other pointing rudely at me. "Okay, this is your last chance!" He exclaimed, voice taking on a demanding tone. "I want you to tell me everything you know about Time Bomb!"

He was always so aggressive. I guess if one was actively perverted, they would also be aggressively mean to those they didn't like. They have no sense of shame or guilt, after all. Still, I think a bit happier to know I'm on the disliked spectrum in his case; he was too hateful towards me to be creepy. I did feel bad for the other girls, though. He was always making lewd comments towards them and trying to look up their skirts. It was disgusting.

Pulling out a canteen from my bag, I pretended not to notice his scowl. "Didn't you hear me!?" He snapped.

"I did," I said quietly, raising my gaze up to meet his, "I just don't care."

"Well, you should!" Mineta growled, leaning over and slamming his hands on my desk. I leaned back, very much uncomfortable with his face being so close to mine. "It's because of you that all the hot girls yelled at me! It's all your fault!"

Seriously? I'm this close to hitting him with the canteen. Inside was a home-made protein drink Maria concocted to help me, having apparently gotten some advice from her boss. I disagreed with her completely, though it made me feel a bit better when she compared me to him when she said our body-types were slightly similar due to our Quirks in that we gain weight rapidly and can lose it just as quick depending on certain actions taken. I really liked her boss; I did some research on him before we came over to Japan since she was being transferred to his division, and he was overall a pretty amazing Hero.

Not the most well-known, often the subject of most body weight magazines and blogs, but he helped the police out a lot and knew quite a bit about the underground market as a result. Fat Gum mostly focused on the rescue and protection of citizens, not really caring for plans that took too long to act upon. Still, I don't think she should compare me to him at all…

Our powers were vastly different, even with the slight resemblance.

If I'm not yet worthy to be able to speak to All Might properly, to be deserving of his help, what made her think I was worthy enough to be compared to such a great Hero as Fat Gum?

Trying to distract myself from my negative thoughts, I unscrewed the cap on my canteen and lifted it up to my lips, ignoring Mineta and taking several long gulps. I wasn't really one to talk because of my self-deprecation and anxiety, but this kid really needed to get his mind out of the gutter. If all he cared about was girl then he wasn't going to get anywhere in life; although, considering I can't stop thinking about the incident… I'm not really much better off.

"Wh-Why you…!" Mineta looked like he was about to hit me, his teeth grinding together in irritation. "Why aren't you saying anything!?"

"Because I don't want to."

"You're just withholding information!" Mineta shouted as Sero reached over and picked him up, the tape-user sighing heavily as he scooted the creep out of his seat. Mineta backed away to his own desk, sitting down, but he didn't stop ranting. In fact, he only got louder. "That's all it is, isn't it? You _like _the attention you get!"

My blood ran cold upon hearing that, expression darkening and becoming near blank as he continued to yell. Everyone was watching now, getting used to the classroom drama. Kirishima looked ready to storm over and tell him off, as did Uraraka, Asui, and Yaoyorozu.

"I bet that's why you freak out all the time; you're not telling us about anything that happened, so that we don't leave you alone! You're just a dirty attention hog who-!"

The redhead was actually making his way over now, but only got halfway before someone who had been making their way between the rows of seats to get back to their own desk had halted. Mismatched eyes turned to look down at Mineta, the pervert's voice cracking and going silent as became frozen by the stare Todoroki fixed on him. Mineta shrunk down into his seat and Todoroki, having effectively shut him down with a single glare, continued on his way and sat down.

There was shock, then confusion, and finally realization as what just happened processed in my brain.

Todoroki kept his word.

He said he would deal with anyone who bothered me and… he did. He got Mineta to leave me alone without uttering a single word.

I watched Todoroki, completely stunned by what he did. Sensing my gaze he looked at me, his chin resting lazily in the palm of his hand. He blinked slowly, closed his eyes, and after a moment turned away. _Why? _I didn't understand. No one ever went out of their way to help others without a reason; they all had to have motives.

I can't believe that Todoroki really meant what he said back then- about scaring people away.

I felt so awkward all of a sudden, even more so when I began to think back to everything Kirishima and Midoriya had done, or how Yaoyorozu had called out Mineta and Kaminari on their behavior. The boys I sat next to, even the girls in this class, had stood up for me. But… why?

I just can't wrap my head around it. I felt so flustered and confused, and grateful and worried, and… so many other things at once.

Am I seriously second guessing myself now? Was everything I thought I knew wrong?

Kirishima's hand tapping on my desk caught my attention, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hey, you okay…?" His red eyes were glimmering with worry, concern written all over his face. "You know Mineta is just a jerk, right…? You shouldn't take what he said to heart. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Y-Yeah…"

I lowered my hands, having not even realized they were tangled into my hair, body hunched over. It had become habitual to close myself off when I started to panic or freak out at home, but do so at school…? That made even less sense than anything that went on here in U.A. I took a shaky breath, curling my shaky fingers into fists, sitting up.

"I-I'm good. Sorry."

He nodded, leaning back in his seat with a small smile. Something about it was weaker than before, almost as if he were sad about something. "Alright. Well, like I said earlier… we're here for you."

"Yes!" Midoriya nodded his head fervently, cheeks a bit pink. "L-L-Let's be good friends, Th-Thorn-San!"

I don't… need friends…

I don't…

But I… can't refute their words either. I don't want to hurt their feelings.

_No, no, it doesn't matter! _My head hung low as the next teacher walked in, thoughts running rampant and contradicting each other. _Why should their feelings matter when you don't even care? I'm not friends with them, so how they feel doesn't bother me._

People just… get in the way- like Todoroki said.

And as the next class began I noticed he avoided talking to everyone, only ever speaking when the teacher asked a question. Yet his answers were always short and curt, getting to the point without wasting time. If someone approached him during the few minutes it took for people to get ready for the next class he would just give them this blank, empty stare until they left him alone. If they got especially annoying he would darken his gaze into a glare until they scrambled away. He ignored the majority of people, acting as if the world around him didn't exist.

And, oddly enough, rather than being _scared _of the boy I actually found myself preferring to be around him.

No one dared to approach him, which meant I could eat my lunch in peace, and as long as I didn't get in his way he didn't seem to care what I did. He didn't even seem bothered by the fact that I kept butchering his last name because of my terrible pronunciation skills. It actually got to the point where I ended up mixing Todoroki with Tokoyami, causing it to become something like _Todoyami _and _Todoroko_, or even _Todoyoki._

It was… awful and a bit humiliating, and I just gave up and refused to say his name at all.

What even led to that was Present Mic trying to get people to speak English sentences to each other. More precise- he was having people introduce themselves to one another to judge how well they've gotten at speaking the language since Middle School. Ojiro was freaking out because he barely knew how speak any of it, and everyone had to go across the room to speak and greet each other.

As such I ended up being forced to speak with Todoroki, being made to greet him once in English (mostly to show the others how it was done) and then again Japanese (since it wasn't my first language), and there were a _lot _of snickers around the classroom at my failure to pronounce his name.

I ended up apologizing profusely by the end. It was really _really _embarrassing. I was good with most Japanese names, but his was just really difficult for me to say for some reason. Tokoyami's as well. I felt like burrowing into a deep hole and crying. I was really going to have to practice that. Frick. Yaoyorozu was a tongue twister as well. She raised a hand up to her lips and watched as I failed to say her name and smiled lightly, telling me not to worry too much about it and that I could just call her Momo. I sunk into my seat afterwards, burying my face in my arms and cursing the world for my incompetence.

Midoriya tried to wave it off, telling me that foreign names would be hard for anyone to pronounce, and that I shouldn't beat myself up so bad over it. Kirishima nodded fervently and joked, "We just got lucky your's is so easy! Thorn Irene!"

"I want to go home…" Was my only lame response.

Thankfully, after what felt like an eternity, the day ended.

Unfortunately, that meant tomorrow came eventually as well. The amount of reporters that rested outside had increased by nearly tenfold, flocking around the school entrance and buzzing like bees. They bothered any students they could get their hands on, blocking their path to the gate and demanding they tell them about All Might and what he was like as a teacher. By the time Maria and I saw this it was already too late, and she had to grab my wrist and pull me close to prevent me from getting ambushed. She forced her way through the crowd, pushing back anyone who got too close.

I wasn't sure what had happened in the past night that made them all think it was a good idea to trespass, but whatever it was could not be good. They were asking all sorts of questions. A young man approached holding up a microphone, not at all bothered by Maria hissing at him. "That young girl is a student here, right? Hey- you! What's All Might like as a teacher? How strong is he!? Has he demonstrated his strength at all? What do you think of him? What are his teaching methods!?"

"Foreigners! Wow; of course! U.A is such a prestigious school; it makes sense for you to come here!" A woman pushed some people out of her way and I cringed, leaning back towards Maria when the stranger's face got near mine. "Actually, something about you is… familiar…"

"NO WAY! It's the Sludge Villain kid!" Some people dashed towards Bakugou, who was enraged by their words. The blond looked ready to blast them into next year, although he held himself back since he was on school grounds. "Tell us all you know about All Might!"

"Is he as handsome in real life as he is on television!?"

"Does he have his eye on any potential sidekicks or successors!? Come on, tell us!"

Maria's expression darkened and she snapped, letting go of me long enough to hold back the string of reporters with her arms. "Back the _fuck_ off! Ever hear of personal space!?" I clung to her front, cowering beneath the gazes of the crowd, scared that one of them might grab me and drag me away into some dark abyss.

The last time I was in a crowd this big… oh gods. No, no, no! That's not going to happen; it won't! Maria is here; it's safe. I'm safe. Everything is fine.

"We just want to know about the Symbol of Peace!"

"Don't hold out on us; tell us what you know! Spill it!"

It's fine, it's fine, it's-

A hand latched onto the back of my uniform collar, causing me to stumble back with a yelp. All color drained from my face as my eyes went wide, and suddenly I was being pushed around. People tried to make their way through to the gate and as the reporters tried to coerce me into talking about All Might they grabbed at my shoulders and my arms, shaking me and causing fear to well up, tears stinging my eyes. The sight of other students trying to get through barely reached me, vision blurring and hearing failing as sound faded in-and-out, sensitive ears numbing to the loud chaotic noises of people screaming and shouting.

It was so hard to breathe. I wasn't even sure I had any control over my body at this point. Maria was nowhere to be seen, forced back by the reporters, and I felt so lighted I was sure I was going to pass out any second. Black spots were dancing in my vision, stomach twisting and churning with nausea.

"Where-"

"Who-" Words were jumbled, going in one ear and out the other. "-name-!"

"All Might-"

I can't focus. "-American!"

"-Number One Hero-"

"Hey." A voice cut through the static. I was breathing so heavily I was wheezing, an arm clad in solid black wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me away from the reporters. My back hit against a chest and the next thing I knew my feet were stumbling, the person turning me around towards the direction of the gate, opposite of the scary adults. My senses were momentarily invaded by the scent of coffee and cat fur. "You're scaring my students. Go home."

That… voice…

It took a few seconds for the world to return to normal, but when it did I found myself staring up at Aizawa in shock, the man glaring at the reporters with tired, irritable eyes. He… was here? When? Wasn't he supposed to be in the building? I… I'm so confused. Wait, did he just pull me away from them? Why? Was he trying to help me?

A female reporter blinked at Aizawa. "Woooow, you're scruffy! What's your deal? Do you really know All Might?"

"He isn't on duty today." The ever-tired teacher answered, shielding me behind him while he waved off the reporters. "You're disrupting the classes. Please leave."

Aizawa then turned away, ignoring the enraged reporters. They all started shouting and screaming at him, causing me to flinch and shrink away, but before I could start shutting down my emotions the teacher reached a hand out and patted my shoulder. He guided me away from the reporters and towards the gate. As Aizawa refused to give the strangers access to the school, their words grew harsher as they yelled vehemently.

Without a visitor's pass the gate would close down on them, preventing the reporters from entering the school building. My arms and legs were shaking, leaving my walk staggered, and as we entered the safe zone- alongside several other students- Aizawa let out a tired sigh.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, bloodshot eyes meeting mine. "Hurry to class." He ordered, looking mentally exhausted from having to deal with such nonsense so early in the morning. "They can't get to you and the others inside campus grounds. Don't waste time."

"Y-Yes, sir!" I choked out, shuffling as quickly as I could do the locker room. Aizawa faced the gate and reporters, and let out another sigh.

"Such a pain…"

I switched out my shoes and slammed my locker shut, hugging myself, pausing for a moment to get my breathing in check. Everything was fine. They… They can't get in; the gate will shut down on them. We're fine. Safe. The school is filled with professional Heroes, too, so… no one can hurt us. No one can… hurt me.

The fact that Aizawa was still acting so gentle when he was normally very intense weirded me out, but at least he was as curt as usual. The man _was _a teacher, though that didn't mean much since I could name a handful of adults back at my old school who were terrible at their job and held even worse personalities. Ick. I rubbed my forearms, trying to ignore the disturbing sensation of imaginary insects crawling along my flesh, my teeth grinding together tightly as I fought back tears. My scars felt like they were on fire.

People like those reporters… _eugh_. It reinvigorated my hatred for humanity.

None of them grabbed at me like that yesterday…

_Okay, calm down. Deep breaths._

I need to stop thinking about it. They weren't Villains, only selfish reporters. I'm fine.

"Thorn-san?" A feminine voice caught my attention and I turned to see a familiar girl heading my way, having just switched out her shoes. Her long black hair swished behind her from its perch atop the back of her head, dark eyes gazing in my direction. Yaoyorozu. She moved so graceful and elegantly; something about her was just so refined and noble compared to everyone else. "Are you alright? I saw Mr. Aizawa help you through the crowd… Those reporters didn't scare you too terribly, did they?"

"Uh, n-no, no, it's… I'm not- I mean, I'm okay." Frick. I forgot how to speak for a second. She always left me tongue-tied when we spoke, her words messing with me even more than Kirishima's did. She was such a serious person; her words had to be genuine, right? So why do I so badly want to think they're lies? It was conflicting and painful and confusing, and a part of me deep down _longed _to speak to another girl, to someone at all, normally, but I couldn't. It was too risky. "I… um, h-how well are you to be doing today?"

Wait.

"N-No, um, uhh… h-how are… how well are you?"

Oh my gods. I can't freaking speak this language; I give up. I want to go home. The day just started, but I'm already done with existing today.

I bit my bottom lip and cringed, looking down at the ground, and mentally cursed at myself for my stupidity. Yaoyorozu, on the other, surprised me with her reaction. A hand flew up to her mouth, and she giggled very softly and said, "I am faring quite well, thank you. I'm flattered you asked. Would you like to walk to class together?"

"H-Huh?"

She continued, smiling warmly at me. "I would hate for something to startle you again. I know Mineta-San has been giving you a hard time recently; we can fend him off together."

O-oh. That… sounded nice, actually.

_Wait, no! It's a trap! Don't do it!_

I shook my head fervently, doing my best not to fall to her charismatic charm. She must be quite the actress, skilled with words and expressions. If memory serves right, she was one of the other recommended students. It wouldn't be surprising if she were able to manipulate her words to affect other people the way she wanted. I won't be fooled. "Y-You don't have to. I… I can handle him. It's fine."

Yaoyorozu looked so disappointed that something inside me snapped, a chord deep in my heart being struck and chipping away at the wall I was trying so hard to keep up. My attempts to keep everyone happy and far away from me at the same time had failed, and though I felt bad for upsetting other people nothing could top the look of complete _hurt _on her face. It was almost as if someone had reached out and punched me in the gut, grabbing at my heart and crushing it in their bare fists. "I-I see…"

"N-No, I mean- I just, oh gods; I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean, um," I stumbled over my words, choking on the lump in my throat and nearly dropping my bag when I tried to wave my hands in the air, "I just…! I-If it'll bother you, you don't have to! I-I'm not- I'm not the best person to be around, so like, I mean, n-nothing against you, I just..."

Yup. That's it. I'm going home. I can't do this.

"You're really pretty!" Ah. What? I mean, she totally is, but that wasn't where I was going with this. Yaoyorozu blinked, having not been expecting that. I clamped a hand over my mouth, startled, feeling my face heat up. What is even happening? Nibbling my bottom lip with my fangs, I shakily removed my hand and began to dig around in my bag, pretending that I didn't feel like an utter fool with the gibberish I was speaking. "Um, h-here…!"

I held out the towel she made, frustrated and flustered. Her eyes widened. "Thorn-San…"

"I-I wasn't sure what to do with it since it came from you, b-but I washed it a-and I figured I should give it to you, so I am. Doing that. The giving it to you. Since… it… y'know, came from you?" My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out what the heck my word process was. "Uh… thanks? For before?"

She took it from me, carefully folding it and smiling softly. Yaoyorozu looked quite happy. "You could have kept it. I appreciate the care you took into preparing it's return for me, however. Thank you." She bowed, standing upright shortly afterwards. Carefully tucking it inside her bag, she laced her hands together. "Are you sure you would not wish to walk together? We are in the same class."

I thought about it for a long minute, puffing out my cheeks, my willpower growing weaker the longer we stood there. She was just so… convincing. I hated it. We were heading in the same direction, so even if I turned her down again there would be no point to it. We'd be walking together regardless. I sighed heavily, surrendering. "O-Okay… I guess."

She beamed, bright and bubbly, so unlike her previous serious persona. "Wonderful!" Yaoyorozu clapped her hands together. "Let us go!" Unable to find it in me to refuse her or do anything else, I waddled after her like a lost duckling, head lowered and arms hugging my bag tight to my chest. Was this really happening? Maybe it was all a dream.

That seemed likely.

"I do wish those reporters would leave well enough alone." Yaoyorozu suddenly commented. "It can cause such trouble for those trying to focus on their studies."

Yeah. I watched her out of the corner of my eyes the entire time we walked, trying to figure her out. She seemed so genuine, but so did everyone else. I'm not sure what to believe. Was everyone in our class truly good? Save for Bakugou and Mineta, were they genuinely kind? Sincere? Was I merely overthinking things like Maria said because of my paranoia? I don't…

I don't know anymore.

Kirishima, Midoriya… did they truly only want to be friends? Was I just being a coward?

When we finally made it to the classroom, I found myself sliding the door open for Yaoyorozu. She thanked me with a nod and made her way to her seat, leaving me to follow behind. Questioning everything I believed in until now, I situated myself silently in my seat. Kirishima sat up straight when he saw me, ceasing his conversation with Midoriya, and beamed. "Mornin'! You get through the crowd okay?"

I said nothing, giving a distracted nod in response.

I just… I don't know. What do I do? I can't just try and pretend nothing ever happened, and toss everything I thought I knew out the window. After that conversation I had with Todoroki the other day I… thought I figured things out. My true wish. So why do I want to believe so badly that everyone here was sincere with their words?

"I was gonna wait for you, but Mr. Aizawa told us to stay put and went outside himself…"

Another nod. I stared intently at my knuckles and brushed my fingers against the wrapping gently, feeling the cloth that I used to cover my scars. Midoriya stared for a moment before glancing at Kirishima, bringing a hand up and scratching the back of his head nervously. "I-I never thought reporters could be so intimidating!" He said, trying to make conversation. "The way they kept throwing question after question was kinda scary…"

"...Yeah…"

Too quiet.

Midoriya and Kirishima looked at each other, having a silent conversation, and in the back of my mind I questioned how they became such fast friends. I honestly blamed Bakugou for it; the two boys must have bonded over their mutual dislike over the blond's explosive behavior. It was… terrifying, really. In the past I made friends in a matter of a day, yet those friendships didn't last. They apparently weren't even real. These two, however, felt different. Why?

I leaned forward, eyes daring to close as exhaustion washed over me. I felt so weary and drained, brain trying and failing to fit together pieces of a puzzle that was already finished. It was as if it found the completed picture not quite right, like the coloring was off or… it was meant to be something else entirely.

The school bell then rang, snapping me out of my daydream, and Aizawa walked into the room. Papers in his hand, he closed the door behind him and walked up to the podium in front of the class. He yawned loudly and set the papers down, blinking several times.

"Everyone here…? Good." Rather than doing roll call as no one was missing, he marked off everyone as present. "Alright. Skipping the formalities, let's get straight to it. Good work on your combat training; I saw the video and the results." Huh? Oh, right. He was talking about what happened the other day in Hero training. "Bakugou! As I said before- you're talented, so don't act like a kid."

The teen scoffed and clicked his tongue, glaring at the wall beside him, but surprisingly didn't retort. Aizawa then began berating everyone on what they did wrong, becoming especially harsh on Bakugou- who had acted out of turn due to his grudge against Midoriya- and lectured him for having nearly destroyed not only the building, but everyone and everything inside. If the bomb was real… no one would have survived. Not even him.

A Hero does not act on a personal grudge. Aizawa then proceeded to lay into Midoriya, scolding him for ending things by breaking himself. Again.

The teacher scowled at the green-haired boy, irritated. "You can't keep saying you "can't help it" because you're unable to control your Quirk. I don't like saying the same thing over and over." Midoriya flinched at that and shrunk into his seat, hands curling into fists as his eyes squeezed shut. I watched almost sympathetically, knowing full well the pain of not being able to control one's Quirk. I hoped one day he would at least be able to find a way. "As long as you fix the control issue, there'll be a lot you can do."

The self-loathing on his face disappeared as fast as it came, Midoriya looking up in shock before a smile spread happily across his face. Hearing Aizawa's encouraging words, the boy became determined.

"Feel a sense of urgency, Midoriya, and work on it."

"Yes_, _sir!"

Aizawa proceeded to go onto the next few people, praising them very monotonously for their good deeds and criticizing them quite bluntly for their mistakes. It was weird, but it just goes to show that he truly did have a softer side- making his earlier behavior more understandable. It wasn't as though he was kindest teacher in existence, but he wasn't a bad person. He was just… grumpy. Yeah, that was it. Aizawa was grumpy.

"Now that that's over with…" He blinked and let out another yawn. "We'll get into homeroom business. Sorry for the late notice, but today…"

Everyone seemed to tense up, expecting the worst. I glanced around, deeply confused at their reactions. It was only until their quiet muttering reached my ears that I understood- they thought he was going to surprise them with a pop quiz of some sort. Oh frick, oh no, no, no. I can barely read the language; how can he expect me to pass a test written in it!? Oh gods, I'm so screwed.

Aizawa's lips twitched upwards and he placed a hand on the top of the podium, leaning forward slightly. His eyes flashed almost sadistically as he watched our panicked reaction. "...I'm going to have you all decide on a class representative."

Wait… what?

Several people actually let out shouts of relief, while other slumped into their seats and let out breaths they had been holding in. Everyone seemed completely relieved- like this was a normal school activity. Perhaps it was just a Japan thing, but I don't recall ever having to pick a class representative back in America. I let out a small yelp when Kirishima suddenly stood up out of his seat, both hands in the air excitedly as he shouted, "Pick me! I wanna be class rep!"

"Me too!" Kaminari Denki exclaimed, raising his hand. I recognized him as the boy who had helped Mineta spread the rumors about my past. I don't think I like him very much. The girl with purple hair, Jirou Kyoka, did the same, though she was a lot more calm about it.

"I want to do it, too."

From the from of the classroom a flamboyant French blond, Aoyama Yuga, declared, "This is _clearly _a job made for m-!"

He was unable to finish. Mina leapt out of her seat, hopping up and down excitedly, loud voice overwhelming Aoyama's own. "Me, me! I'll be leader! Let me do it!"

Okay, yeah, no. Stop. Please, don't. I sunk into my seat, leaning back down against my desk and cradling my arms over my head. This noise was too much for my sensitive ears and was giving me a headache. It was bad enough with the reporters, but now the class was going to get really rowdy as well. My only consolation was the fact that it wasn't _my fault _this time, though I had to question why anyone would ever want to be class representative.

It would be so stressful, wouldn't it? You'd have so much responsibility.

Soon the voices became louder and even more excited, everyone arguing and shouting over each other, trying to declare themselves the best pick, and it became impossible to identify who was saying what. I pressed my hands over my ears, hunched over, a pained expression on my face, skull throbbing as the headache became stronger, near borderlining a migraine. The pain only ended when the blue-haired glasses kid, Iida Tenya, raised his hand up and shouted loudly over the discourse.

_"Silence, please!"_

Quiet rang through the room, everyone stunned silent. I breathed heavily, lowering my hands and glancing to the side to see the person standing upright.

"This is a job with the serious responsibility of leading others! It is not a job for those who just want to do it! It is a calling that requires the trust of all those around you. If we want to use democracy to decide on a true class leader, then we should hold an election to choose one."

...He was saying this, but he was holding his hand up so high in the air his entire arm was shaking. Interesting.

"Why did you suggest that!?" Kaminari exclaimed, dumbfounded by the suggestion. Asui pressed a finger to her chin, contemplating this.

"You say that, but we haven't known each other for very long at all. How are we supposed to trust each other, Iida-Chan?"

Kirishima hummed and sat back down, processing this. "If that's the case and everyone votes for themselves… "

"That is _precisely _why!" Iida exclaimed, moving his hands forward in a robotic fashion. It helped to emphasise his point, getting his words across better. "Don't you think that whoever receives multiple votes here can truly be considered the most suitable person?"

That… actually made a bit of sense. His words carried a hint of charisma in it, seeming to persuade everyone in the room. The boy turned to the teacher, but the tired man was already zipping himself up into his yellow sleeping bag.

"What do you think, Mr. Aizawa!?"

"I don't care as long as you decide before homeroom is over." Aizawa responded, closing his eyes as he fell sideways onto the ground to take a nap. This didn't seem to bother Iida any- only encouraging him more. The man nodded, bowing deeply.

"Thank you very much!"

After some irritating debate over how the votes should be cast so as to avoid upsetting anyone, Iida decided to find a box and have everyone write a name on it. From there, people would put their votes into the box and he would count them up at the end, writing the names and number of votes on the chalkboard. In the end, Midoriya won with a shocking three votes and Yaoyorozu following up with two votes. The green-haired boy next to me _shrieked _at the end result, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.

Bakugou shot up out of his seat, slamming his hands on his desk in a fit of rage. I flinched and ducked down, fearful of his anger. "_Who the hell _voted for that _bastard!? _Why Deku!?"

Sero snorted and looked up at Bakugou. "It's better than voting for you, isn't it?"

_"What did you just say!?"_

Ooooh, I hate this. Can we get on with the class period, please? We have a class representative now, don't we? Problem solved. Done. I uncovered my face and slumped over, and was about to reach into my bag to grab my canteen to calm down with nice long gulp of my protein drink, when a voice reached my ears. Iida.

"I… I got a vote?" He sounded so shook, both distraught that he lost and in awe that someone had actually rooted for him. "Wh-Who!?"

"You voted for someone else?" Yaoyorozu asked, surprised. Sato Rikido frowned, feeling bad for the guy.

"But you wanted to do it, too, didn't you? What were you trying to prove, Iida?"

Todoroki said nothing, closing his eyes and turning away from the conversation like usual. I sunk lower in my seat, uncomfortable at the turn this conversation was taking. I glanced back at the blue-haired kid and wondered if I should have voted for someone else after all. I was originally going to go with Todoroki, since I liked him more than anyone else here, but I doubted he would have wanted to be representative. I then became torn between Yaoyorozu and Iida, but since Iida was the one who suggested the whole thing and had been very, uh, keen on enforcing school rules I went with him instead. He seemed to be the most fitting for the role.

Yet now he looked so dumbstruck, stunned and overflowing with emotion at the same time. "Who _voted _for me…?" He wondered, shock outshining the joy he felt. "To think someone out there believes I have the capability to be a good leader…"

I fiddled with my mechanical pencil, debating the choice I made and if I should have left the paper blank. I glanced back at Iida one more time, the boy lifting his head up just in time to meet my gaze. Realization dawned on his face and I quickly turned away, startled, and focused my attention on Midoriya and Yaoyorozu as they were told to come to the front of the class.

"Alright," Aizawa muttered tiredly, sitting up halfway in his sleeping bag, "so Midoriya is the class rep and Yaoyorozu is deputy class rep. Good job."

Midoriya was trembling uncontrollably, so much so I couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. The very thought of having to stand up and face the entire class like that, not to mention being handed so much responsibility, freaked me out. I shivered, grimacing as the image. It was awful. He was so brave for not having ran back to his seat yet.

"After all's said and done, Midoriya can get pretty fired up!" Kirishima joked, looking proud of his new friend. "He's gonna do great!"

Yeah, I guess…

But he seemed so scared.

...

Lunch could have come sooner.

Tray piled high with tuna and egg sandwiches, pasta, more disgusting salads, white rice, and corn, and some fruit, I was ready to stuff my face. The food was heavenly as always, Todoroki was sitting in silence slurping away at his soba noodles, no one spoke to us, and everything was just going great. I getting close to the one hundred sixties now, I was certain of it. I had to unbutton my school jacket as a result, as it was becoming hard to move with it on, but other than that I felt amazing.

I tried not to care too much on how it looked with me eating this much. I was starving.

No matter how much I ate was always so hungry, which really just goes to show how much my body needed food in order to withstand my Quirks and to maintain the pretense of being healthy. Todoroki never spared a glance, not all phased by the sheer _mountain _of food that was stacked on my tray, and as I munched on a nasty piece of carrot I glanced out to the side where the windows were, able to hear commotion from outside. "I wish the reporters would go away…"

The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized. Todoroki chewed his soba noodles, eyes flickering to me, and then focused back on his meal.

Perhaps the reporters would leave the school soon… I really don't want them to stay like they did last time. There were so many of them now. I sighed and picked up my glass of water, downing it. I set the object down and glanced at Todoroki, beginning to wonder if that was all he ever ate. "Is soba your favorite food?"

No response.

I honestly wasn't really expecting one; it was just the only thing I ever saw him eat, so I figured he really liked it. I've only eaten warm soba before- and I don't think warm soba going cold is the same as soba _served _cold like he was eating. Maybe I could ask Maria to make it sometime; that way I could try it. She was a great cook.

Wondering if my measy two questions were annoying him, I lowered my head and apologized quietly. "S-Sorry…"

I awkwardly went back to eating, finishing my rice. This was so uncomfortable now. Why did I ever let myself speak? That conversation with Yaoyorozu really messed with my head; I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore. Am I avoiding people, am I trying to talk to them- _What? _I felt so sick and dizzy trying to figure it out. I hated it. Talking to Todoroki was probably one of the hardest things, too, since he was so quiet and intense.

Finishing my food in a few minutes, I stood and went to take my tray up. Todoroki having finished as well, I asked if he was done before picking his tray up with mine. He stared up at me inquiringly as he did so, narrowing his eyes, and I stopped what I was doing- uncertain.

"I-I, uh, sorry. D… Do you _want _to put it away yourself? I-I figured it would be easier if I- oh gods, this isn't getting in your way is it? I'm so sor-"

My voice was cut off abruptly by an alarm. I yelped and accidentally banged my knee against the table, cringing and hunching over as I set the trays back down on the table. That seriously hurt! Ow… frick. What's going on? I opened my eyes, expression pained, and watched as the people around us began to panic.

_"There has been a Level 3 security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly. I repeat-"_

Huh? Security breach? What?

Students were standing up out of their seats, rushing together and forming a large crowd. Everyone was freaking out, voices screaming and chairs screeching against the tiled floor. First-years all the way up to third-years were throwing fits, scared for their lives over what was happening. From what I could make out, this was the first time in three years that a Level-3 security breach has happened. But… what did that mean?

"Wh-What's a Level 3 security breach!?"

Todoroki stood up from his seat, assessing the situation. I was starting to panic myself, hands raising up to my ears as I tried to isolate the sounds and pin-point certain words to figure out what was happening. Everyone was so loud- it was grating. Like nails on a chalkboard. It hurt so much; it was hard to focus.

"V-Villains…?" The boy looked at me, heterochromic eyes focusing on me as the horror dawned on my face. "V-Villains are here…? N-No, no, no, no... augh…"

I can't… listen…

"T-Trespassers…"

Someone broke through U.A's security and forced their way onto campus grounds. Todoroki trailed his gaze to the horde of students that were all pushing each other, watching as they all fought and rushed to get out of the cafeteria. Some were running past us, determined to get out to safety. All were screaming their own theories and thoughts, believing it to be the work of evil people.

"V-Villains are… here…" They're going to kill us. They're going to kidnap us, isolate us, torture us, starve us. I began to shut down, body trembling as I started to hyperventilate, hands reaching up and grabbing onto my arms, fingers digging hard into the flesh. "N-No… _no…_"

I can't breathe anymore. My vision began to darken, trapping me once more in that terrible place. My legs won't move. If the Villains are here inside the building we need to get out of here, but they are so many students; it would take ages for everyone to escape. We can't do it; it's impossible. Panicked children won't cooperate.

We're going to die.

Before I knew it tears were dripping down my face, back pressed against one of the table edges. I don't want to go through that again. "It's all over…"

We're screwed.

"_Thorn."_

My head shot up to see Todoroki standing in front of me, the bi-colored haired boy having moved sometime during my attack. He didn't say anything else, merely staring me down, but it did the trick. My pessimistic thoughts came to a halt and my attention was captured. As he walked off, all I could do was follow. Lifeless, cold, scared. Something terrible was happening and there was no Maria- no Time Bomb- to stop it. All Might wasn't here at the school today either. What if our teachers weren't enough?

No, no, no. That's not going to happen. We're going to be fine.

I picked up the pace so not to be left behind, following behind Todoroki like an awkward shadow. cradled my hands close to my chest, glancing around and taking note of every possible hiding place, wondering if a bunch of teenagers would be able to stand up against practiced Villains. As we neared the horde of frightened students, the boy never showed any signs of discomfort, not even seeming bothered or afraid. He appeared completely indifferent, the only emotion shown resting within his mismatched eyes, the crystalline blue and storm gray orbs shimmering with hate.

Hate towards the situation, hate towards the trespassers, or hate towards whatever was plaguing his mind… I didn't know.

All I knew was that he was strong. Like Maria, he was put together and well-collected.

And I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. I knew absolutely nothing about him, could barely even hold a conversation with him, and yet I was relying on him as a temporary pillar of stability- using his presence to keep myself from falling back into despair. My desire of becoming more like Maria, more confident and brave, was starting to feel like a pipe dream. Perhaps it was a mistake to ever think I could try changing who I was.

We were just far too different, after all.

And as we ended up being shoved and pushed about by the other students this became very evident. I tried to convince myself it was fine; if there were Villains inside the building that meant I needed to focus on getting out of here, not on how having my personal bubble violated bothered me. It didn't remind me of the crowds back in the amusement park I was abandoned in, of the strangers brushing against me and pushing me back-and-forth like some sort of ragdoll. It wasn't uncomfortable or disturbing at all.

I was fine.

"Where are the teachers!?"

"Heroes- why aren't they here!?"

Wait, where'd Todoroki go? He was right next to me a few minutes ago; did he get pushed back? No, I got pushed forward into the crowd, didn't I? Eurgh, let me out! I don't like this! It's suffocating!

I tried to push back against the people shoving me around, but an elbow soon dug into my ribs and I gasped, pain flaring through my abdomen. I wasn't able to recover before someone's arm slammed into my chest, sending me stumbling back and crashing into a person.

"Get out of my way!"

"I can't see; what's happening!?"

"Stop cutting in front of me!"

I was pushed away, forced to trip over someone's foot, and then suddenly I was on the ground, crying out as people walked on me, stepping harshly onto my back and my limbs, people completely disregarding me in their frantic attempt to leave the cafeteria.

"Stop pushing, damn it!"

"Wait, someone fell!"

"Everyone _stop! _Slow down!" That voice- I recognized it. Kaminari? I tried to get up, but I quickly got knocked back down by someone stepping onto my lower back. I flinched, barely able to get a glimpse of blond and redhead pressed against the wall. "Hey!"

"Watch out!" Kirishima. He was trying to force his way through the crowd, arms in the air. "Quit shoving! Whoa…!"

"Villains are gonna kill us all!"

"I don't want to die!"

I screamed when a pair of feet dug into my hands, threatening to break my fingers. I had managed to get up onto my knees, though it was still extremely difficult trying to stand without being knocked back. There was no control at all; I felt like little more than rag doll by this point. Fighting was futile.

"Calm down! Everyone, stop panicking-!"

It hurts. I'm so scared. I can't- every time I tried to get up I would just get trampled on all over again, hit and elbowed and stomped on. Bruises were going to be littering my body at this point, and had I not eaten so much I'm certain I would be covered in cuts and bleeding all over the place. The bones in my hands would most certainly be broken by now otherwise.

I whimpered, curling up with my arms held protectively over my head, tears burning my eyes. My brain was overloading from all these voices overlapping each other. Please, stop this…

I can't…

I want to go home…

"Hey, hey! There's someone on the ground!" The foot that was digging into my shoulderblades was suddenly removed and I felt a pair of hands grab at me, lifting me up. I grit my teeth, half expecting the worst, only to get a face full of blond hair and round blue eyes. We were still moving, being shoved left and right, but this person was taking the brunt of the blows while he carried me in his arms. "I gotcha! You okay?"

Wh… What?

_Oh gods-! _We were sent sideways and, not wishing to fall over, I found myself latching onto his shoulders, crying out and burying my face in his neck. The muscular stranger easily caught his balance, almost towering over the other students. It was almost like like he was laughing at the chaos. _We're going to die…!_

Shredded, beaten, sliced, stitched-

_I don't want to!_

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry!" The person said, voice so close it overwhelmed the others that I was drowning in. There was a warmth in his tone, soft and comforting, and the confidence almost threatened to wash away all the fear I felt. He was smiling so brightly. "I doubt it's a Villain! If it were the teachers would be here to protect us."

I blinked, sniffling and pulling away as I registered his words. _It's… not a Villain?_ The large teenager beamed at me, pushing his way through the crowd all the while. Who was he? Why… was he helping me? Everyone else seemed content to just trample all over me. I stared at him, confused.

"Wowie, things are crazy! Don't you think? Haha! I hope Tamaki's doin' okay…_ oof! _Watch it there, buddy!" He tightened his grip, smile never leaving his face, holding me up a bit higher. "I'll keep you safe, first-year! Promise."

He was so bright and bubbly. His smile, matched with his blond hair and blue eyes, reminded me of All Might. I must be quite heavy now, too, since I packed on weight, so I don't understand why he hasn't set me back on the ground yet. I could probably walk by myself. Things were such a mess. "I-I'm sorry…!"

"Aw, don't apologize! It's fine!" He shifted the arm that was on my back, trying to give me a thumbs-up. "_Whoa!" _He stumbled again. "Ahaha, guess I'm not being very convincing, am I?" The man chuckled. "Whoops! My bad. Haha!"

Another yelp left my lips as I feared I was about to fall. "Wh-What is h-happening-!?"

The blond looked like he was contemplating my answer and was about to respond when a voice shouted over the chaos, abrupt and strained. My skull was throbbing, ears ringing as sirens rang and rattled about inside my brain.

"_Everyone! Everything is okay!"_

It got louder with each word and slowly the panic stopped, replaced with befuddlement.

"Eh?"

"What?"

The voice continued and as silence rang over the crowd, brought forth by the voice, I was able to open my eyes and pinpoint what was so familiar about the speaker. _"It is just the media! There is no reason to panic!"_

"I… Iida?" The muscular blond carrying me hummed and looked up, no longer moving as the crowd had stopped, his smile ever-present on his round face. English leaked out of my lips, replacing the Japanese I had grown accustomed to using. I wasn't even bothered by the arms wrapped around me, finding myself more secured than threatened. It was the crowd that was my foe. "Wh… Why is he…?"

_"Everything-is-alright! This is U.A; let us act in the best way BEFITTING the best of the best!"_

"This kid is great!" The blond exclaimed, seeing the way my classmate posed like the symbol on emergency exit signs, Iida struggling to stay atop the doorframe. "He's very energetic! I'm impressed. He in your class?"

I didn't even notice he was speaking my first language. "H… Hero…" Body aching from all the abuse it withstood, I could hardly talk without wheezing. "Hero Course… I-Iida Tenya."

Oh. Wait. I wasn't imagining the sirens; there were police cars outside. The blond stranger had pushed his way over to the window, glancing outside, and as I held onto him I blinked, relief washing over me when I saw the reporters being pushed back. There really weren't any Villains. As people began to shout and let out exclamation of joy, another wave of emotion washed over me and I choked, vision blurring as my eyes stung.

"W-We're safe…"

The blond looked at me, curiosity in his gaze, something flickering in his expression as he continued to smile. "But of course! Did you really think we wouldn't be?"

I said nothing to that, shoulders shaking as I strangled the sob building up in the back of my throat, fangs digging hard into my bottom lip. "I-I really do hate this…"

He tilted his head at me. "Say, what's your name, first-year? Ah… you _are _a first-year, right? Sorry; I just sort of made an assumption. I didn't recognize you, after all. I'm Togata Mirio; Hero-in-Training! Third-year."

Taking a deep breath, I did my best to calm down. A part of me was briefly aware of the fact that he was still carrying me. "I-Irene… um, Thorn. Thorn Irene, I mean. Uh. Words. What?" I can't. I lowered my hands to my chest and began to fiddle with my bandages, noticing that they had been ripped and undone. I stiffened, fingers starting to twitch as a burning sensation began to run through my hands and arms. The creepy, crawly feeling of insects running along flesh. "I-I-I-"

Speak. Think. Focus. I'm here. _Here. _Nowhere else.

I furiously undid the wrapping and tried to fix it, frantic, but the bandages went all the way up to my elbows and I would have to remove both jacket _and _shirt if I want to redo it. I settled for tugging on my sleeves, burying my hands against my sides underneath my arms as I hunched over as best as I could in my position, fighting tears.

_Too much._

I can't do this anymore.

"I want to go home…"

The man called Togata blinked, eyes widening, and the next thing I knew he was laughing again. He set me down on my feet carefully, but before I could make an escape he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, ruffling my hair with his free hand. "Ahaha! You really do remind me of my friend! Maybe I should introduce you? Daaw, I'd have to talk to him first- oooh, but we should really get you to the infirmary! I'll help you!"

That was when the intercom acted up again, informing everyone to return to homeroom for roll call and then head to classes as scheduled.

"Already?" The blond blinked. "Okay. I'll walk you. You _can _walk, right? Should I carry you again? Piggy-back!"

Oh gods, I think I preferred Kirishima and Midoriya to this guy. At least they weren't all touchy-feeling. Although I did like hugs, I didn't like to be touched by people I didn't know or were close to. It's a miracle I hadn't had an attack when he was carrying me earlier. It was probably because I was already freaking out too much over the crowd and the idea of Villains by the time he showed up.

"I-I, uh, I don't- um," I stammered, switching between the only two languaged I knew, desperate to get away, "That's… I would… um, not…"

"This way!" When it became clear I wasn't going to climb onto his back, he settled for a different approach, standing and whirling around. "Let's go! Plus Ultra!"

"What? _No!" _I yelped, almost screeching as he hoisted me up again, the blond holding me with only one arm this time as he hurried his way through the crowd. I pushed at his shoulder, momentarily debating smacking him on the back, only to decide that would be too harsh and settled for protesting loudly. "S-Set me dow_wwhoa!"_

This was terrifying. Not in the usual sense, but in another way that made me question what led up to this. What was with the people in this school? They were all so weird!

"Ne, ne; Nejire!"

"Eh? Ah, Togata-San! Where are you going?" A pretty girl with light lavender-colored hair blinked as he walked by, her indigo eyes boring into him curiously. "Oh, who's that? Ahhh, she looks so round and fluffy! Are you a cat? What kind of Quirk do you have? What's with those bandages? Are you hurt? You're a foreigner, aren't you? Whoa-!" She stumbled, trying and failing to make her way over through the other students. "Hey, hey, Togata-San, you know what they say about seniors picking up freshman, right-?"

"Ahahaha!" Togata laughed loudly. I flinched at the volume, it being right next to my ear. His free arm moved up-and-down at incredible pace, pointing at me repeatedly with his thumb yet doing so with such speed it was hard to actually tell _what _he was doing. "I'm taking her to the infirmary! She got walked on all over during the chaos! Tell the teacher where I'm at, okay?"

"Ehhhh?" She was getting further away from us. "What about Amajiki-Kun? He'll be worried, you know!"

"I'll find him after! In the meantime, I _To-gat-a _go get this first-year patched up! Ahaha!"

Wait. Did he just…?

Frick. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my lips from curling upwards, a snort threatening to escape. The blond noticed my reaction and grinned wider, looking down at me as we started to reach the exit. "Oh? That was actually funny? I got tons more jokes if that's the case!"

Oh no.

I remained silent, refusing to inform him of my love for bad puns and the like. It almost served as a distraction from the grotesque tingling of my scars, the blond chatting endlessly and telling whatever jokes he could think of. At some point he moved to carrying me with both arms again, and I told him I could walk on my own and that he could go to class, but he straight-up ignored me and rambled on about how his mentor valued humor above anything, which was great for him since he liked goofing off anyway.

I huffed, giving in to defeat, and was only freed when on our passage through the hallways I caught sight of a familiar redhead. "K-Kirishima!"

"Eh?" He blinked, whirling around to see where my voice was coming from, and pushing his way through a couple of students he hurried over in alarm. "Thorn! Are you okay!?"

"Yes, yes!" I can't believe what I was doing, but screw it. I'm done. Avoiding people and trying not to talk was difficult anyway. I just have to make sure not to get too attached; that's all. I outstretched a hand towards him, waving at him in an attempt to emphasize my words. "Save me!"

"...Huh? Whoa- who's this? An upperclassman?"

Togata blinked, beaming down at Kirishima. "Yup! I'm a third-year. Are you another one of her classmates? Nice to meet you! I'm Togata Mirio! Your friend here got trampled on so I'm taking her to the infirmary!"

Kirishima looked horrified. "It wasyou who fell!? Are you okay? You're not bleeding anywhere, are you? Can you walk? Is something wrong with your legs? Why is he carrying you!?"

Okay, okay, calm down. Stop. "I-I'm _fine_. He just won't put me down!"

The redhead didn't seem like he was listening. "I-I'm going to tell Mr. Aizawa! You hurry up and get better! Take care of my friend, Upperclassman Togata!"

He dashed off, not bothering to pay attention to my protests, and I sat there in the blond's arms completely exasperated. Dumbfounded, even, by the boy's behavior. I scowled and glared up at the blond, very much unhappy by this. "Congratulations; you win."

Togata just grinned. "You mean there was a chance I could lose?"

What the- oooh, I don't like this person. I scrunched my nose up and turned away, crossing my arms over my chest. I had completely forgotten about my earlier predicament.

…

After Recovery Girl patched me up with some medicine and band-aids, the woman refusing to use her Quirk on me due to my unhealthy body, she sent Togata Mirio on his way and, after taking my vitals one more time, class with Recovery Girl started. It mostly consisted of more reading. I sat there in silence and scribbled away in my work notebook, attempting and failing to translate some of the more complicated scientific words that were written in the Japanese text, and I tapped my pencil irritably against the table when my thoughts ran back to events that happened previously.

Todoroki who disappeared, Togata who saved me from being trampled on and forcefully brought me to the infirmary, and Kirishima who straight up ignored anything I said out of panic and ran off- leaving me at the mercy of the blond man I just met. Lovely. Every now-and-then our lessons would be interrupted by a student coming in for a medicine or a nap, as they would have a bad headache or stomach pains.

Seeing as they weren't _injured _there wasn't really much I could, only able to watch as Recovery Girl gave them antibiotics or pain medicine. Unfortunately, there came a time where she had to leave- attending a meeting with the principal- which left me all alone to man the infirmary. She gave me a basic list of instructions, telling me to write down the name and class number of any student that stopped by, and to perform basic first-aid if any suffered wounds from Hero training. She also told me what about amount of pills and/or medicine to give to students that required it.

It was… a _very _long and dizzying list of paper. She had already had it written out in preparation of having to leave for the meeting, but I was not prepared at all. On the bright side, the majority of it was common sense. In fact, to my dismay, as soon as she left it was as if the universe decided it wanted to pick on me even more today, for the infirmary started to get flooded with injured. I didn't recognize any of them, but because of that I knew they had to be from Class 1-B, Hero Course.

None had to be carried in by a stretcher thankfully, except for one- a boy whose body was almost entirely covered by mushrooms.

According to the robot his name was Monoma Neito.

A foreign exchange student, Tsunotori Pony, had some pretty bad scratches. I cleaned them nervously, hands shaking the entire time I bandaged her wounds. It took all I had not to use my Quirk to heal her. "You are American also?" She asked excitedly, her big prussian blue eyes staring at me as I helped her. "I'm so relieved! Language is hard speaking… er, hard to speak here! Writing is… much better. Teacher Vlad helps me a lot!"

So we're opposites, then. My hands began to twitch, mind forcefully focusing on the conversation to avoid thinking about anything unsavory. The blood was so warm and sticky against my flesh. Eugh. Breathe, girl. You got this.

"M-Mr. Aizawa… helps me, too. Sometimes." Not in the way I made it sound like, but I needed to talk. I had to distract myself. Tsunotori grinned widely, looking quite happy.

"You are Hero Course, also? Amazing! Um, d… do you like anime? I love anime!"

I faltered. Something inside of me tried to climb its way out of its cage, feelings I suppressed a long time ago. Back home, in my old school, when I still had people I talked to- I was always made fun of for watching anime. I especially adored _Yu-Gi-Oh_, but whenever it came up in conversation the people I thought were my friends would say something about how they knew that not even _I _could like such a stupid show. One even threatened to burn the drawings I made.

As they made fun of me, all I could think about was how I had tins full of cards made for the show, and I would sink down quietly in shame and awkwardly agree, pretending that I hated it. I adored anime so much, even the older ones. They were a lifeline, an escape. There were so many characters I looked up to and respected.

I suppose… them insulting me like that… was another sign that they were never truly my _friends _to begin with. This person, however…

She was unlike me. Brave, asking something I had been too shy to do in the past. I couldn't lie to her knowing that; I couldn't shun her.

"I… I do, yeah."

Emotions bubbled up from my chest to my throat, nearly overwhelming me. My voice was trying so hard to leave, to rant and ramble on about the shows I cared about. To speak to her the way I would often speak to Maria. To tell her all about the fanfictions I've written, the drawings I made, the digital art I spent hours creating.

"Have…" I hesitated for a moment. "Have you ever seen, um, _Inuyasha? _It's pretty underrated, but the story is amazing!"

"Hmm…" She tapped a finger against her chin, thinking. "I heard of it, yes! _Ouran High School Host Club? _It is very good._"_

"Kyoya all the way." What was my mouth trying to do? I did not appreciate the way it was trying to tilt upwards, fangs attempting to make themselves known in a smile that I was working so hard to force down. It was like with Togata all over again, the blond telling stupid puns over-and-over again in an attempt to make me laugh. "Um- I, uh, I fixed your… yeah. Sorry."

I stood up abruptly, pulling away from her now that her injuries were all bandaged, and I rushed over to the sink. I stuck my hands under some severely hot water, ignoring the pain in favor of washing away the disgusting feel of blood. I couldn't tell you how much soap I used in the process, or even hand sanitizer, and I felt Tsunotori's eyes on me the entire time I did so.

I just- I need to _get it off, off of me, away, I hated it-_

"What name was it you go by?" The girl suddenly asked, standing behind me. I jumped, having not heard her move from how concentrated I was on my task, and winced as I banged my hand off the faucet. Several bruises were now aggravated. "S-Sorry, so sorry! I did not mean to be scaring you!"

"Th-Thorn." I bit. "Thorn Irene. A-And it's fine."

She tilted her head, cute face contorted into worry, and she nodded. "I will… head back to class now. Please be making sure Monoma-San does not… er, hurt more?"

Mushroom Guy?

I nodded at her words, turning back to wash my hands some more. The scorching water felt like such a relief against my hands, even if it caused pain to my bruises and wet the band-aids and wrapping. Wet cloth was gross, but I would take it over the feel of blood anyday. I hated sticky substances.

Sometime after she left there was a knock on the door and I called out, gradually getting used to this role as temporary medic, in order to inform the person that they could come in. It was a very tired looking boy, with purple hair sticking up all over the place, violet eyes scanning the room and seeing the mess that had taken place. For a split second- there and gone as quickly as it came- was an almost bitter look in his gaze. "Hero training?" He asked.

"Uh… yeah." I turned off the faucet, drying my hands off with some paper towels. Throwing them away, I held my hands close to my chest and faced the stranger. "N-Name and class?"

"Shinsō Hitoshi. General Studies, 1-C."

I hurried to write this down, the list of names from today taking up over half the page. I could feel him watching me as I did this; it was greatly unnerving. "Uh, h-headache or-?"

"Yeah. Had it this morning, but it just kept getting worse after what happened with the reporters. Almost passed out from it, so my teacher sent me here." I glanced back at him and then at the infirmary beds where all but a few were taken up. Do I have him lie down after some medicine? Or do I give him the medicine and send him back to class? What would Recovery Girl do?

"O-Okay, um. Passing out is not good. N-Not good at all. Uh…"

Medicine cabinet. Where was- oh, right. Okay.

"Stomach, stomach… cuts… back pain… oh gods, I can't even read that- um. Where did it-_ah!" _I unlocked the cabinet, struggling with the key, and pulled the door open. I stood on my tip toes and grabbed it, holding it out for him to see. "This one, right?"

He blinked. "Yeah… that_ is_ what people generally use for headaches."

Seeing how he was looking at me like I was an idiot, I stepped back and lowered my head, mumbling as I twisted the lid. "I wasn't sure if that's what… it said or not. I-I'm not good at reading the characters, so..." I worried my lip, uncapping the bottle. "H-Here. Sorry."

He outstretched his hand and took the pill from me. I put the bottle back up in the cabinet, locking the door again. "What happened to your hands?"

"...Hah?" I turned, confused, before realization dawned and hurriedly made to cover my scars. "Th-That's..."

"I meant the bruises." Oh. Right. My shoulders slumped in relief.

"I… I fell."

He gave me a stare, showing he didn't believe me.

"I-It's true!" I said, feeling oddly defensive. "I-It was during lunch a-and everyone was panicking, and I got knocked down!" His eyebrows furrowed together upon hearing that. I ran my fingers habitually over the backs of my hands, staring at the bruises and frowning. "I-It's a good thing it was me and not someone, else… so… yeah. It doesn't matter. It's fine."

"Why's that?"

My gaze flickered to the clock, seeing I still had at least ten minutes until sixth period. "Because of my Quirk? If I didn't eat as much as I did I might not have... um… You know what? Re-Recovery Girl should be back soon, so... take a nap? I guess?" I gestured to the beds. "Should help."

I made my way back to my desk, sitting down and resting the side of my face against my left bicep, tapping my pencil against the paragraphs in the text book I was struggling to read. If I had a choice in my skillset, I think I would have preferred being able to read and write the language over speaking it.

The boy speaking startled me, as I had expected him to have already lied down or something. "...What class are you in?"

"Class 1-A, Hero Course. Though while they're doing battle training, I'm here." An index finger waved in the air lazily, making circular motions. "Healing's my thing."

I really wished I realized certain things sooner. Avoiding people and not talking to them is impossible. But… that doesn't explain why I had so much trouble trying to do so. Todoroki does it so effortlessly and so does Maria. Was it because they were stronger than me? More headstrong?

Or was it because that, no matter what I tell myself, what lies I try to live, I can't stop what is the very culmination of my being?

Talking was always what I did, it had been how I got by so many years ago, and friendship was something I believed so _strongly _in until the incident. Trying to do the opposite was like telling a person to plug their ears or close their eyes, ordering them to live the rest of their life that way. They can't- it's not possible. They were so used it; it was just how they were. Maybe comparing my personality to two of the five senses didn't make much sense, but it was the only way I could describe it.

If you take away an aspect of a person, something that made them who they were, they'll instinctively try and go back to normal.

It's hard to be something you're not, after all.

I wasn't _raised _to be a quiet person, despite everything my dad tried to drill into me. I'm talkative and emotional and loud, and though I'm scared and shy away from almost everything nowadays… the urge to speak and make friends was hard to fight. I could only truly be myself around Maria and even then it's difficult to let myself go free. Holding myself back for two years, shrinking back, hiding away, being forced to live under lock-and-key… it was painful.

And I hated it.

I wanted to get to know people. My desire to have nothing to do with them stemmed from my own cowardly fear. Everything I told Todoroki the other day was because of my anxiety and cowardice. I was weak. Because… everytime I close my eyes… I'm back in that dark room. Suffocating, starving. Scared and surrounded by death. The voices and memories of those I called friends mock me, making me question what I believed to be friendship. My conversation with Tsunotori, with every other person I've met since going to U.A, made this abundantly clear.

Were things really alright the way there were? Was I truly _fine _as I tried to convince myself and others? I know I'm not healthy, I know I'm not stable, but how much longer can I keep lying to myself… trying to be someone I'm not? Bits and pieces of my true personality have been leaking out through today, brought forth from hesitation and uncertainty, and the idea that maybe everyone here was true to their words.

By the time the bell rang everyone was still lying down. Recovery Girl came by and made sure Monoma was doing well- I had taken his vitals earlier, but other than that there wasn't much I could do. I was only a few days into learning from the Youthful Heroine and was too scared to cut the mushrooms off completely, only really getting rid of the caps. The stems themselves were still there.

"All we can do is keep him as comfortable as possible. They'll pop off in an hour or two. I'm surprised you did so well on your own." Wait, really? "Have some gummies."

"E-Eh? I-I don't, um… okay. Thank you?" I honestly felt rather useless when trying to treat him. "W-Will he really be okay?"

"He'll be fine. Now hurry on to class; I can handle things from here, dearie."

_If you say so…_

I worried my bottom lip and packed up my things, making my way to the classroom. It was nearly empty save of Yaoyorozu and Iida, the others probably still changing out of their costumes. I munched on my snacks, hungry as ever and still trying to pack on some more pounds, counting down the seconds until I could go home.

"Thorn! Thorn, are you okay!?" Kirishima's voice caught my attention as he slid down into his seat next to me, looking relieved. "You're all better now, right? You look healthier…"

"Um, yeah, s-sorry."

He shook his head, frowning deeply. "No- you shouldn't apologize! I saw someone fall earlier and… and I tried to get over to help, but there were too many people and I just- I'm so sorry!" Kirishima bowed his head. "I had no idea it was you and… I feel like I keep failing you as a friend."

What? Oh gods, okay, here we go.

"N-No, no, okay, um, that's wasn't-" Frick, I don't know what to say. We aren't even really friends, but it's not like I can just say that to him here in this moment. That would only make him feel worse, right? I don't know how to people. "I-I'm fine! You're fine! Everyone was pushing and shoving, s-so, like, there wasn't really anything that could be done! I don't think…? Um. I'm used to not having help anyway, so…"

"But that's even worse!" He exclaimed, apparently greatly bothered by all this. "Friends are supposed to help each other out! Instead that third-year we don't even know had to carry you to the infirmary! I talk big about protecting you and even Midoriya, but.." Kirishima sighed. "I'm just no good."

...That's it. I give up. I can't do this anymore.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to rid the jitters caused from my anxiety, and shakily picked up my workbook. Turning in my seat, I hesitated before lightly bopping the boy upside the head with it. Kirishima's eyes opened and went wide, the boy stunned as he stared at me. "W… Will you stop that? ...Please? B-Before I hit you again?"

"H-Hah?"

"Y… You shouldn't talk bad about yourself!" I felt incredibly ridiculous as I said this, having not made this speech to anyone except Maria in the past two years. I could probably do well to act upon my own words, yet I had a feeling it would be a while before that happened. "I-It's not… It's not good, you know? So just… stop."

"...Haaaah?"

Okay, yeah. Nope. My point is proven; I can't do this. Shaking, I awkwardly dropped the workbook down and picked up my pencil, rapidly tapping the end against the hard wood. "I-It's just- I don't… I mean, you're too _nice _to hate on yourself, so you should just… stop that. Okay? Y-You've already done enough."

Suddenly an idea hit me and I sat up straight, alarmed as I looked at him.

"O-Or are you saying all that stuff because you're hungry? People can get grumpy when they're hungry; do you want something to eat? I have some jerky in my pocket-!" I began to pull out the different bags, listing them off to the startled Kirishima. "There's honey barbeque, teriyaki, original, and-"

He reached out and clapped his hand, causing me to jump, and I nearly dropped the bags. Kirishima blinked several times and leaned forward, staring at me intently. "This… isn't a dream right? You _are _Thorn, right? You're not some alien that replaced her… right?"

"N-No?" I leaned away, mildly flustered. "Er- uh, mean, it depends? Are you gonna start being nicer to yourself or not?"

He stared a little while longer before his grin broadened and laughed, leaning back into his seat. I shrunk down, worrying at my bottom lip and wondering if I made a mistake. Did I really sound so stupid that he was laughing at me? Was he not the nice person I was starting to think he was? Did I overthink things too much again?

"S-Sorry…"

"No, no!" He waved a hand at me, snickering. "I just- I never imagined you saying anything like that! You're always so meek and quiet!" Kirishima turned, smiling warmly at me. Something in expression seemed a lot more relaxed, happier even. "I'm glad."

I blinked. "Glad…?"

He didn't bother to explain. Clearing his throat, obviously in a much better mood now, he said, "Anyway! You won't believe want went down in class. All Might wasn't our teacher for today, but we still learned some pretty manly battle tactics!"

My eyebrows knit together. "Who was the teacher?"

"Power Cord was." Sero said, taking a seat in front of me at his desk. "His electric attacks were pretty cool."

"Amazing is more like it!" Kirishima exclaimed. "What he said about working together to find our best strengths…" The redhead sniffled, holding a fist up in the air as tears welled up in his eyes. "It was so… so _manly! _I wish you were there to hear it!"

"P… Power Cord? He's… here?"

There was no way…

Hold on, didn't Maria say something about him moving to Japan? How many months ago was that conversation? I can't remember. It involved something about him meeting his new girlfriend. I can't believe it. If he was here then… oooh, Maria is going to be in such a good mood when I tell her. He was seriously a teacher here? Dude. That's incredible.

As my thoughts trailed off in a direction of figuring out how to tell my sister the great news, the majority of what Kirishima said went in one ear and out the air. Power Cord, whose real name was Arik, was such a comic nerd. He actually rivaled Maria in terms of sheer geekiness. it would cheer her up for sure to find out about him being here.

She's gonna be so happy.

"Hey, Thorn, what's up?" Kirishima waved a hand in front of my face to catch my attention, snapping me out of my thoughts. He was tilting his head curiously. "You look… dude, are you smiling?"

"H-Huh?"

**Mirio is such a sweetheart and Mineta is a creep. (Drops microphone) (scrambles to pick it back up) A-Anyway, here you go! Had to split it up into two parts since it was becoming so long a chapter. XD How excited you all for USJ? Got any favorite dynamics so far? Poor Irene has no idea what's going on anymore, haha. Not sure she ever did, really. **

**Read and review! :3 **


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